God and Mortal

In the City of Lights, within the Miracle Temple, Iva stood alone beneath the Divine Tree as wind stirred the Cups of Desire, carrying whispered voices.

"Confusion."

"God Iva feels confused."

"He seems to struggle with some difficult choice."

The whispers in the wind came from the Cups of Desire, extensions of Iva's power and will. They delighted most in eavesdropping on hearts, stealing the emotions and desires hidden in people's depths.

Iva never concealed his thoughts. He actually hoped these Cups of Desire would reveal his emotions to him, for he often struggled to recognize his own emotional changes.

Iva sat beneath the tree, setting his lamp aside. He stretched lazily and leaned back against the trunk.

Within the lamp burned flames of many colors, appearing mottled and varied as they cast their hues through the glass shade onto the shadows of the tree. Each flame carried memories of joy, worry, happiness, and solitude.

Over these years, he had experienced even more emotions. After learning happiness, he found it easy to understand worry. After knowing contentment, he became particularly susceptible to loneliness.

Emotions and desires always existed in pairs.

The warm afternoon sunlight fell upon him, bringing drowsiness.

"Time to return," he murmured to himself beneath the white Divine Tree.

"What should I do after returning?"

"Creator Yinsai will likely give me a new mission."

Yet for some reason, he felt reluctant to leave. He wasn't sure if he would miss this world, this city, or something else entirely.

At this moment, the Dream Sovereign watched Iva from the God-Given Land, observing his confusion and troubles.

The spirit waved golden sleeves, and starlight scattered from robes embroidered with Dreams of Wishes.

The deity cast these dreams toward the mortal realm.

Light enveloped Iva, who had fallen asleep like a child. He curled up beneath the tree in peaceful slumber.

A beautiful goddess descended from the sky, arriving on winds perfumed with flowers in the clear afternoon.

She held a book in her arms: Tales of the Spirits.

Iva opened drowsy eyes to see her. He immediately knelt before her.

Though he had guessed the Dream Sovereign's return when he saw the gates to God's realm open the previous night, actually seeing her filled him with ineffable joy.

"Great Dream Sovereign Hila!"

"You have finally awakened."

To her, Iva truly was but a child.

She had given him her Dream Egg, given him purpose by making him the Ferryman.

She had set him upon the Path of Wisdom, crossing the vast years between eras.

Dream Sovereign Hila smiled at Iva with the same warm gaze she had given him when he was merely a Cup of Desire flower hiding in the Divine Boat. Back then he had no name, while Hila already served as the messenger at the Creator's right hand.

"Yes," Hila said warmly. "Your sharing of my story allowed me to awaken quickly."

Hila lifted the book. "Thank you for this book. I love it very much."

Iva shook his head. "I didn't write this book. I merely retold the stories I had heard."

"Your story, your greatness, your blessings."

"These already existed in this world, within the beautiful dreams of all living beings."

"People had simply forgotten, and I helped them remember."

Hila replied, "Regardless, I should thank you."

"Iva," she smiled, "you have done exceptionally well, always completing your missions with excellence."

Hearing Hila's praise brought Iva great joy.

"Now that I have completed this mission, after bidding farewell to the faithful who formed covenants with me, I shall return immediately to God's realm."

"To receive my new mission."

Hila asked softly: "Tell me, Iva," Hila asked gently, "why do you always await new missions? Is there nothing you wish to do for yourself?"

Iva fell silent, for he did not know why either.

Once his mind had been blank, with only missions from the Creator and Dream Sovereign to fill that emptiness, giving him purpose and meaning.

But things seemed different now. He appeared to have developed his own thoughts, his own likes and desires.

Yet he had grown so accustomed to the daily cycle of missions that without them he felt lost.

Now, the deity who first gave him purpose and meaning told him:

"Iva," Hila said softly, "do not return to the divine realm. You have somewhere else you should go."

Iva asked the Dream Sovereign: "Where?"

Hila told him: "Have you forgotten?"

"Someone still waits for you."

Iva gazed at Xin Ji. In the past, he would have unhesitatingly exposed the flaw in Xin Ji's words, for while one might maintain devoted faith themselves, none could guarantee such devotion in their descendants.

The King of Wisdom Redlichia had believed in the divine with such fervor that he inscribed his faith into the Crown of Wisdom itself. Yet after his passing, everything had faded into history.

But now Iva no longer cared about such things.

After all these years, he finally understood. Some things didn't require obsessing over whether every word was true or whether people could fulfill every promise they made. It was enough simply to understand the speaker's heart.

In this moment, Xin Ji's faith and loyalty to him remained beyond question.

"Perhaps being forgotten isn't so terrible. Though I would feel some sadness, for I have grown fond of this city and its people."

"As long as you maintain faith in me, I shall continue our covenant."

"I grant you use of my power and welcome you to my garden after death."

Xin Ji's heart filled with both trepidation and ineffable emotion.

Trepidation that the deity cared nothing for being forgotten, yet moved by the divine's grace and favor toward them.

"Great God Iva."

"We shall never forget all you have given us."

"Xin Ji especially will never forget."

"I only regret that until your departure, I have done so little for you, repaying not even a fraction of your kindness."

Iva walked past Xin Ji, carrying his beloved lamp.

Just as he had first arrived, he had descended upon this coastal plain, bringing hope and light to all its people, transforming this place with his power and the alchemy he taught.

He had gifted these mortals with unimaginable power and divine techniques, clothed primitive wilderness folk and helped them build cities.

Iva had granted them civilization's light to rival the Suinhor city-states, yet with an entirely different character.

Upon leaving, he took nothing with him.

"Xin Ji," Iva said warmly, "I shall await you in my sky garden of miracles. Though I hope you arrive late, so you may accomplish more in this world."

"This way, you can accomplish more."

"And leave fewer regrets behind."

When Iva spoke of regrets, his voice held a touch of melancholy.

The deity departed.

As night fell, people watched a lone lamp's light recede into the distance, merging with the stars to accompany the moon above.

Wails rose before the temple as thousands throughout the city knelt, reverently bidding farewell to their deity.

Xin Ji emerged from the temple, raising high his Golden Lamp.

As if responding to the stars above, answering the ferryman deity among the star sea.

Though the deity had departed, what he had left behind would continue being passed down through the generations.

On his departure path, Iva saw several new cities of varying sizes beyond the City of Lights.

He had only heard Xin Ji speak of them before, but now he witnessed firsthand the changes he had brought to this world.

He passed through a city called the City of Gold, an Alchemist city by the sea established by those skilled in metallurgy and crafts.

Alchemists wielding lamplight and alchemy created various miraculous artifacts, trading them to Suinhor via great ships.

He also reached a city called the City of Miracles, ruled by Alchemists skilled in architecture whose lamplight could melt sand into solid stone and crystal.

This city contained many wonders under construction.

Iva saw statues of spirits dozens of meters tall.

He saw a temple shaped like the lamp he carried, housing a great lamp that flickered with firelight just like his own.

Somehow this wasteland had become a land filled with cities and towns.

The embryo of a city-state slowly took shape.

Though this state had no king, it possessed its own unique faith, culture, and systems.

Iva finally understood.

The relationship between people was never merely transactional, just as the relationship between gods and mortals was never merely commands and missions.

From the moment they met, they began changing each other.

Passing through a small town, Iva encountered two arguing children. They fought loudly about where to play, one boy wanting to visit the woods outside town, one girl wanting to play at her home instead of going outside.

After arguing at length, the boy pouted. "Fine, don't come then. I'll go alone."

The girl grew angry, shouting, "You're just a wild child, always getting dirty outside. I don't want to play with you."

"I don't want you coming to my house either, making everything messy."

The boy grew angry too. "Even if you begged me, I wouldn't go!"

The boy left the girl behind as he headed toward the town's edge. The girl bit her lip standing there, suddenly bursting into loud tears.

However, before long, the boy came running back.

Seeing the girl's red eyes, he immediately asked, "Why are you crying?"

The girl maintained a stern face. "I'm not crying."

The boy took out a small piece of candy that barely qualified as such, saying, "Here, have some candy."

The girl refused again. "I don't want anything from you."

Though she said this, she turned her head aside to avoid looking at the boy.

Yet her hand slowly accepted his gift.

The moment she put the candy in her mouth, her stern expression instantly melted into a brilliant smile.

The boy then said, "Alright!"

"Let's go play at your house. Playing alone isn't much fun anyway."

The girl replied, "This was your choice. I didn't ask you to come."

The children who had just been quarreling furiously were suddenly chatting and laughing together.

The girl said proudly, "I have something nice at home. I'll show you later."

The boy asked curiously, "What is it?"

The girl's expression and gaze became utterly mysterious. "I can't tell you now. It's a secret."

As if their argument had never happened at all.

Iva couldn't help but ask the boy, "Why did you do that?"

"She spoke badly of you first. Why did you go back to comfort her?"

The child replied, "Because we're friends!"

"Even if we fight, we can just make up again."

"Besides, I know she didn't mean it."

Iva fell silent. Were they all so unconcerned with who was right or wrong?

Iva then asked the other child, "You were clearly crying. Why did you say you weren't?"

"And you clearly wanted him to come to your house, yet you said you didn't."

The little girl glared at Iva indignantly. "I did not!"

She grabbed the boy's hand and hurried away along the town street. "This person is strange. Let's ignore him."

But her thoughts revealed to Iva: "I didn't want anyone to see me cry. That would be so ugly!"

When the girl finally revealed that her home's novelty was an artifact made by an alchemy workshop, the boy immediately let out an excited shout.

Then the two small figures disappeared around the street corner.

Watching the children's joyful manner, Iva suddenly felt overwhelmed with sadness.

Though he stood as an exalted deity, he had never understood this principle known even to children.

The clear boundaries between right and wrong he once believed in seemed not to apply to humans.

Sometimes obsessing too much over right and wrong caused people to lose something far more important.

And he had indeed lost and missed certain very important things.

Even children could see through words that masked true feelings, yet he had failed to understand.

Because the divine beings he knew never needed to mask their feelings or tell lies.

Iva's form rose into the air.

He finally departed the Land of Sunrise, heading toward the Sunrise Mountains.

In the Sky Miracle Garden, the garden had grown considerably larger than before. Cups of Desire grew down the walls from the high waterfall, following the river's flow.

Viewed from beyond mortal perspective, it appeared as if a sea of flowers flowed down from the sky with the waterfall.

It created a truly beautiful miracle.

A small boat carried two people upstream, passing through the waterfall and hanging flowers.

"Look!"

"The Sky Miracle Garden really floats in mid-air."

Another pair of fortunate souls had arrived here to witness this legendary garden.

Amid exclamations of wonder, they rode great waves up the waterfall into the garden.

"These two desire money. Looking at the intensity of desire, their yearning burns very strong!"

"Oh, what a mundane desire."

"What do they want money for?"

"They want money to change their homeland. Their home suffered disaster, and many face starvation."

"Ah, so that's why."

They heard the voices of the legendary flowers that could see into people's hearts and desires. Everything in their hearts lay exposed within this garden.

They saw rivers flowing with treasure, completely transparent crystal bridges, and the mountaintop lake beneath the rainbow with its sacred castle.

Walking inside, they found the palace and castle filled with new curse marks and artifacts formed from desire, placed in every corner.

Each object represented a story that could move people to tears or laughter.

Upon a great mountain piled with gold and treasures sat a throne, and upon the throne sat a golden-haired woman.

Though the garden's power and artifacts preserved her beauty, she was no longer young. Lines showed at her eyes, and she had lost her former innocence and naivety.

The visitors knelt in the palace, crying out to the being on the throne.

"Great Sacred Spirit!"

"We beseech you, please help us!"

Meryl heard their story, learning they came from the Suinhor city-states. Their homeland lay destroyed by volcanic eruption, and they hoped for money to rebuild.

"Your desires shall find response through divine power."

"Have you considered carefully?"

"Have you made your decision?"

The two nodded quickly, and an exquisite stone statue appeared before them.

"It will guide you to what you seek."

The two were overjoyed, repeatedly kowtowing in thanks to the being on the throne.

As they turned to leave, a metal cup fell from one person's body.

The cup bore the image of a Cup of Desire, immediately catching Meryl's attention.

She reached out her hand, and the cup flew into it.

She asked the two, "Where did you get this cup?"

They told Meryl, "This comes from the City of Lights in the Land of Sunrise. Before disaster struck our homeland, we traded with merchant ships from the City of Lights."

"They say the City of Lights has miraculous Alchemists who worship God Iva, deity of alchemy and desire."

Meryl asked, "God Iva?"

They nodded, saying excitedly, "Yes, this deity possesses miraculous power and can grant mortals the power of lamplight."

"Through lamplight, Alchemists create all manner of extraordinary items."

Meryl heard more stories of Iva. He seemed unchanged.

And he seemed to have completely forgotten her.

Forgotten this Miracle Garden he built for her.

Meryl waved for the two to leave.

But she kept the cup.

She gazed at the Cup of Desire pattern on it. This object must have been very close to Iva once, sharing the same city with him.

"It seems you found a way to fulfill your mission, and people to help you achieve it."

Meryl smiled, though her smile held sadness.

At this moment, a figure suddenly entered from outside.

"Yes," Iva replied softly. "I found my way to fulfill the mission, along with people who helped me achieve it."

Hearing that voice, Meryl instantly looked up.

She carefully examined the figure who entered, with his silver robes and handsome young face.

Her gaze grew distant, as if confirming she wasn't dreaming.

Iva walked to the foot of the great mountain of treasures and throne, looking up at Meryl.

He spoke softly: "I have returned."

Meryl broke into a joyful smile.

Unlike when she was thirteen or fourteen, she no longer hid or concealed her thoughts. She openly showed how much she had missed Iva.

Meryl stood, smiling at Iva.

She called out loudly: "Then... have you fulfilled your mission?"

Iva nodded again: "It is fulfilled."

Meryl let out a long breath, filled with both satisfaction and relief.

"That's wonderful."

"Though I regret I couldn't help you."

Iva shook his head: "No, you helped me greatly."

"You taught me how to experience joy, showed me how people relate to each other."

"You also told me that even without a mission, I had things I wanted to pursue."

Meryl asked him: "Why did you return?"

Iva told her: "I have no more missions, but I wish to stay in this garden."

Iva paused, then added: "With you."

Meryl's eyes shimmered with light.

Finally, she couldn't hold back her tears as she said: "Last time, we met too early."

Back then Meryl was thirteen, still a child, while Iva was merely a novice deity bewildered in seeking ways to fulfill his mission.

"This time, you've returned too late."

"I've grown old."

Iva climbed the great mountain of treasures step by step, coins and artifacts jingling beneath his feet.

Each step sank deep into the wealth until he finally reached Meryl with determination.

Then he extended his hand toward her.

"As long as you were willing to wait for me, it's never too late."

Meryl's smile spread across her face, beaming like a child's.

Iva took Meryl's hand, and Meryl gradually grew younger.

She returned to that year when she was thirteen.

And Iva transformed into his appearance from when they first met.

They ran hand in hand from the golden mountain's throne, slipping out of the magnificent palace and laughing as they crossed the crystal bridge.

The garden's silver flowers parted to make way, closing again after they passed.

From afar, one could only see the sea of flowers swaying and hear their laughter.

They ran freely through the garden, spreading their arms in the flower sea, feeling the soft touch of flower cups against their hands.

Iva: "Remember when you hid here before?"

Meryl: "You couldn't find me at all."

Iva: "You wouldn't let me use divine techniques."

Meryl: "You were so silly, actually not using them just because I said not to."

Iva: "I've always been somewhat clumsy."

Meryl: "But... I love your clumsiness."

Iva did not return to the Creator's divine realm. He remained in his earthly garden.

The Sky Miracle Garden that belonged to him and Meryl.