Meeting God's Messenger

The dream spirit left the Kingdom of God, passed through the gate of light, and descended into the mortal world.

She strolled above the open sea, her splendid golden robe brushing the surface and trailing ripples behind her.

Never before had she ventured beyond the Kingdom of God. Born at the feet of the divine, she had remained at God's side from the first moment of her life.

As she gazed across the endless sea, her heart opened in an instant, becoming as vast and empty as the water.

La la la la!

La la~

She sprang into the air and drifted across the waves, singing a soft, ethereal song as she danced the spirits' favorite dance above the sea.

The world outside was very large, and it was very beautiful.

The only pity was that none of her companions were here to take her hands.

Hehehe!

With God not watching her, she abandoned all restraint and behaved just like any other little spirit.

All at once, she wondered whether she had always been too stiff and careful in front of God. Perhaps dancing before the divine would be a fine thing after all.

"If only God were here to watch me dance across the sea."

"Even if it's a little embarrassing."

She wove back and forth above the water, then suddenly lifted her head and gazed into the distance.

Sensing a Ruhe Beast nearby, she remembered why she had left the Kingdom of God in the first place.

The dream spirit found its presence strange. "What's a fusion monster doing here?"

These were not the lands of Yinsai. They belonged to the People of the Abyss.

Starlight whipped up a wind behind her as she hurried toward it.

Then the bodies came into view, floating one after another upon the water. Blood from the People of the Abyss covered the sea's surface, filling the air with the reek of blood.

Before her lay both slaughter and betrayal.

Henir, a trilobite man, drove a Ruhe sword into the body of an elder brother who shared his blood, then viciously kicked him into the sea.

"Die!"

"Prince Weishi... of the Hosen family."

The spirit had never witnessed such a scene. The sin and evil of the trilobite men lay bare before her.

Henir rode the Burrowing Demon Worm across the sea, standing alone atop the crown of the Ruhe Beast's head.

Sword in hand, he stood with the blood already washed from the blade and his fingers by the seawater.

At first, he stared into the distance with a placid expression, as though nothing had happened.

Once the blood was washed from his hands, to him none of it had ever existed.

Before long, he could contain himself no longer and burst into laughter. Covering his eyes with one hand as if to hide it, he laughed wildly, without the slightest restraint.

Hahahahahaha!

Hahahahahaha!

Never had Henir felt so free. The clot of black mud beneath the Hosen family's feet had swallowed the family's most important heir.

He had also seized the Burrowing Demon Worm, one of the two great cornerstones supporting the Hosen family's throne.

Dreamlike starlight descended upon the sea, and an airy voice descended over those waters.

The newcomer questioned him. "You trilobite men can be so kind, so innocent. How can you also be this wicked, this ugly?"

"You have committed the sin of killing your own kin. How can you still laugh?"

The dream spirit even began to doubt whether these kings, these wielders of wisdom ability, could ever use the power of dreams well.

Perhaps God had been right. Everything she was doing might be nothing more than a meaningless waste.

Turning his head, Henir saw a beautiful being standing amid the dreamlike starlight.

She walked upon the sea as though the loveliest being in all of dreams had stepped into the world. No myth or wall carving could capture her beauty and holiness.

Never before had he seen such a being.

If he was black mud beneath the ground, she was the moon and stars in the sky.

"Who are you?"

The dream spirit told him, "I am the messenger of the divine, the dream spirit."

Dazed, Henir struggled back from his moment of utter distraction.

Only then did the spirit's words register, and he gave a noncommittal laugh.

"Dream spirit, Saint Tito said your kind are born out of beautiful dreams, and that from the moment of your birth you stand for all that is good in a person's nature."

"He said you are born gathered at the feet of the divine, and that you dwell in the domain of the divine."

"Is all that true?"

The dream spirit nodded. "It is."

Henir spread his hands. "Look at how fortunate you are."

"You were born with everything, with the most beautiful things in this world."

"You have never known our pain, our despair, or our hatred. What right have you to demand that we be kind and good?"

The dream spirit fell speechless. Not once had she considered any of this.

The trilobite men were far more complicated than she had imagined. Their kingdoms bore no resemblance to the spirits' dreamlike garden.

Henir did not wait for an answer. "Then why has God's messenger descended into the mortal world? Have you come to punish me in God's place?"

The dream spirit answered him. "The gates of the divine domain will open soon, and the road home will lie open to the trilobite men."

"At the same time, God will grant the trilobite men the power of creation and take back the power of destruction."

Deep in her heart, she did not want to give the power of dreams to someone like him. Yet only those who held power could drive change and launch a transformation.

She still hoped to choose someone else to spread the power of dreams and wield it.

Even so, she put the question to him. "Trilobite man, you who have committed the sin of killing your own kin, are you willing to surrender the power of the great beast?"

Henir tilted his head. "And what will I receive in return?"

The dream spirit told him, "Give up the power of destruction, and you shall receive the power of creation."

"Lay down the darkness in your heart, and you shall receive the light of hope."

"The gates of the domain of the divine will open to you. At the moment of your death, someone will come to receive you, and you will become one of the stars of the Kingdom of God."

After a moment's thought, Henir refused the spirit's offer.

"No."

"Whether it destroys or creates, power is power."

"Why should I surrender power already in my hands in exchange for power I know nothing of?"

The dream spirit's voice sharpened. "What you lose and what you gain are not yours to decide!"

"Descendant of King Redlichia, nothing in your possession is yours. The divine bestowed it all upon you."

"Your life, your wisdom, your power."

"Even the power of the fusion monster. You believe that once it is yours it will grant you everything, but it is only a gift from the divine, and a fleeting one."

Looking at Henir, the spirit grieved for his fallen, darkened heart.

Yet she did not force Henir to relinquish the great beast's power. Only those who willingly surrendered the power of destruction were worthy to receive the creative power of dreams.

"Henir, you will one day grow old, and one day lose everything."

"The domain of the divine alone is eternal."

"One day, you will regret the choice you have made today."

Young Henir knelt humbly and bowed to the Divine Messenger.

"Messenger who speaks for the divine, forgive this humble, short-sighted believer. I cannot see so far into the future."

"Here and now, I seek only the present that belongs to me."

Amid the starlight the messenger of the divine departed. This was not the person she had come to find.

Only after she had gone did Henir rise.

All at once, the Ruhe brand at the center of his brow grew hot. Henir looked down at his reflection in the sea.

To his surprise, the mark of the Ruhe brand had faded slightly.