Shelly's Dream

In the Dream Realm, within the Pyramid Temple of the God-Given Land, a magical mirror connected to the dream-like star sea revealed scenes from the pastoral plains of Ruhe Beast Island.

The former beast-herding tribes had undergone remarkable changes. No longer did they roam bare-chested and naked, or wrapped only in beast hides like savages.

Many now wore coarse cloth garments produced in the Suinhor city-states, some even adorning themselves with gold and silver ornaments.

They wielded bows and arrows, herding fanged beasts across the plains. They traded leather goods and beast meat with the Suinhor city-states in exchange for various daily necessities.

Though friction between the two sides persisted, with tribes continuing their small-scale raids southward each year, no major wars had erupted in recent times.

A hundred years ago, a ruler had risen to power when the Wing Demon tribes attacked, seizing the opportunity amid the scattered chaos of the beast-herding tribes.

Through conquest, he devoured one tribe after another, establishing his own system modeled after the city-states, complete with laws.

He organized the plains tribes into units of hundred households, thousand households, and ten thousand households.

Only tribes receiving his official recognition could become thousand-household or ten-thousand-household tribes. Otherwise, once a tribe's population reached a certain threshold, it had to divide.

He established laws across the pastoral plains, bringing order to this chaotic realm while strengthening his authority and control.

These actions laid the foundation for establishing a kingdom upon the pastoral plains.

The ruler built a new city upon the ruins of the ancient Fort Pence, naming his nation the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents.

Then he proclaimed himself King of Ten Thousand Serpents.

Within his Royal Court, the King gathered numerous craftsmen, imitating the city-states and City of Lights in crafting bows, weapons, and pottery.

Yet their pottery lacked Suinhor's refinement, their weapons falling far short of the City of Lights' excellence.

Their customs retained their nomadic nature. Though they had established their Royal Court at Fort Pence at the foot of the Mountain of Life's Origin, they still migrated annually, spending half the year in another city further west.

That was their secondary capital.

Both the city-state civilization and the pastoral civilization developed rapidly.

At this moment, beyond the mirror, two Divine Beings fixed their gaze upon a figure approaching Fort Pence.

Creator Yinsai and Dream Sovereign Hila stood side by side. Yinsai's gaze remained calm and serene, while the Dream Sovereign's eyes held a gentle warmth.

"Is that Sermos?"

"Shelly's apostle."

Yin Shen nodded without speaking.

Dream Sovereign Hila continued: "I truly hope she finds a good ending, and that Shelly discovers a companion of her own."

Yin Shen turned away. "Perhaps she cannot become Shelly's companion. She can only remain Shelly's eternal apostle."

"However..."

"Having someone to converse with will be good for Shelly."

In the mirror, only the lower half of the majestic Mountain of Life's Origin could be seen in the distance.

At its foot, an ancient city radiating profound antiquity gradually revealed itself as the mirror's view expanded.

The Snake People's Ability bearers possessed an innate talent for controlling petrification, granting them tremendous advantages in city construction.

This had been one of the key factors in the previous rapid development of their city-states.

This city differed completely from both the Suinhor city-states and the City of Lights of the Land of Sunrise.

The Suinhor city-states favored spires, their buildings resembling drawn swords symbolizing blood, fire, and royal authority.

The City of Lights preferred circles with round domes, tops, and spheres.

It possessed a unique magnificence, especially at sunrise when facing the sea.

Golden rays would slant across the city's circular domes and temples, clearly revealing the lines of light as the entire city reflected the golden sunlight.

In such moments, it appeared not of the mortal realm but rather a divine kingdom.

Here, however, the architecture was uniformly square.

It possessed an ancient and magnificent style, directly inheriting the aesthetic of the City of Life.

This was especially apparent as the city had been built upon Fort Pence's ruins, as if continuing another's life, an ancient inheritance.

That sense of ancient weathering, combined with the sanctity of the Mountain of Life's Origin at its back, gave the city a distinctive divine charm.

A female knight approached from afar, riding a Land Dragon.

She wore a silver battle dress that showed signs of age but had been polished to shine.

At her waist hung a longsword crafted in the City of Lights, its elegant hilt immediately revealing its origins. Only the City of Lights could forge weapons of such exquisite beauty and durability.

"Fort Pence."

The female knight had bound her hair back in a high ponytail, cutting a heroic and graceful figure.

She lifted her head toward the distant city and the mountain that pierced the clouds.

Though this marked her first visit, she seemed intimately familiar with the Mountain of Life's Origin. The moment she beheld that mountain, her eyes filled with profound nostalgia.

"I feel as though I have been here before."

From the moment of her birth, scenes of this place had flickered through her mind.

In these visions, there had been a woman in a white dress.

The woman wore a golden ring around her neck and possessed a noble, elegant bearing. She stood before an ancient hall, looking down at her from atop high steps.

No matter how she tried, she could never see the woman's face.

That woman had asked: "Will you wait here for someone?"

She had replied: "Wait for whom?"

The other had told her: "Wait for someone very important."

"Someone who is very... very... very important."

This was why she had journeyed so far to reach this place.

The female knight rode her Land Dragon forward as crowds surged through Fort Pence.

The guards at the city gates showed no surprise at the female knight's appearance, instead asking:

"Are you here for the tournament as well?"

The female knight nodded.

Indeed, she had come for the tournament, though her purpose differed from the others.

Each year in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, they held a royal tournament.

The victor could make a request of the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, who generally responded with great generosity.

Through this method, the King had recruited talented individuals from various tribes across the pastoral plains.

Before the Royal Court palace.

The female knight moved like lightning, using her sword's spine to instantly knock unconscious a warrior standing two meters tall.

Then she kicked him off the platform with casual ease.

In mounted combat, she rode her Land Dragon in charges, unseating an armored warrior with a single thrust of her spear.

When his Land Dragon went berserk in response, the female knight immediately struck the massive beast to the ground with her spear, subduing the terrifying creature with her bare hands.

As if restraining a mere fang beast cub.

The normally people-eating beast could only whimper.

In matches allowing Divine Techniques, none in the palace courtyard could withstand even a single exchange.

Her seemingly unremarkable frame contained unimaginable power.

Her eyes could release overwhelming petrification techniques that covered the entire courtyard.

She possessed a unique Divine Technique, creating dark vortexes with her hands that could devour and annihilate everything.

In the final match, her eyes blazed with light as she drew her sword and pointed into the distance.

A massive stone golem crawled forth from the earth, frightening her opponent into immediate surrender.

"Whoosh!"

The entire audience rose in an uproar, all staring at the female knight in astonishment.

Then came shocked cries and loud cheers from the crowd.

"Incredible." The female knight's martial prowess inevitably drew comparisons to the legendary King Alpens, that invincible warrior who had dominated the battlefield.

"What rank of Ability bearer is she?" This was the focus of many present.

"To summon a stone golem, she must be at least third rank." Someone stared fixedly at the giant golem the female knight had summoned, speaking in a daze.

Those who truly understood Ability bearers' power knew the terrifying might of a third-rank bearer, one who could single-handedly destroy a city, wielding power that inspired despair.

"How could such a powerful warrior remain unknown?" More people debated atop the high platform.

Even then they sensed the female knight still held power in reserve, possessing even greater strength she had not yet revealed.

The female knight herself felt this too, aware she could unleash far mightier power.

Yet this power remained bound within her body, perhaps because she could not yet control it, or perhaps because her current form could not fully contain it.

None present knew she was actually a Life Ability bearer.

Her ability to use Wisdom Ability came solely from her eyes being incredibly powerful Divine Artifacts.

Even the female knight herself had not yet distinguished between these two powers.

The King of Ten Thousand Serpents was an elderly man.

Though completely bald, he maintained a forcefully straight posture.

He wore a golden crown and gripped a jeweled sword, his gaze radiating power.

He immediately recognized that the female knight was far more than an ordinary third-rank Ability bearer.

Third-rank Ability bearers received the highest honors whether in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, Suinhor, or the City of Lights in the Land of Sunrise.

For they represented the mightiest warriors known to the Snake People's kingdom, strategic assets for any faction.

Sufficient to strike fear into other powers.

The King rejoiced at such a powerful warrior arriving at his Royal Court, as this would greatly increase their strength.

The King descended from his high seat to treat the female knight as an equal.

Yet when he approached her, he discovered she stood even taller than himself.

"Mighty knight from afar!"

"You have won victory and honor. What else do you desire?"

"Surely the Royal Court and I can satisfy your wishes."

However, the female knight merely glanced at the King of Ten Thousand Serpents and spoke with unwavering resolve.

"I wish to become a temple knight."

"A knight serving God."

The King was momentarily stunned. The Royal Court's temple venerated the God of Life and Mother of All Snakes.

Those who served God had to be pure and unblemished maidens.

Most who entered the temple could never leave for their entire lives.

The temple knights who guarded the sanctuary likewise could not easily leave the temple and the foot of the Mountain of Life's Origin, departing only upon receiving divine oracles and commands.

The King, even in name, held no authority to command these temple knights.

Though regretful, he sensed the female knight's determination.

Even as he felt disappointment, he developed a deep respect for this powerful warrior.

He bowed to honor her devotion: "You are truly a faithful believer."

The female knight returned his bow with knightly courtesy: "This is what every mortal and believer should achieve."

The King shook his head: "Many can speak of it, but few can achieve it."

"The human heart overflows with desire. Rarely can one maintain completely pure faith."

"We want too much, while faith cannot give us everything."

The female knight spoke with disappointment and sorrow in her expression.

"Therefore."

"God has left the mortal realm."

Whether disappointed in herself or in all Snake People—

In the Dream Realm of the God-Given Land.

Shelly had finally reclaimed her small conch. She proudly carried it to the Sun Cup Flower Sea, ready to show off once more.

She moved through the flower sea with exaggerated motions, stirring up waves among the flower cups.

Her arrival immediately disturbed a group of small spirits.

The spirits warned each other that the troublemaker had returned.

"Oh no, oh no."

"She's back."

"Here to wreak havoc in our garden again."

Shelly stood upon a rock submerged in the flower sea, her head emerging from the blooms.

She raised high the Mother Conch of All Things, frightening the small spirits into frenzied flight.

Yet as she prepared to blow it, she remembered how hard it had been to reclaim it and feared Creator Yinsai would take it away again.

So she merely pretended, then gave up.

However, the mischievous spirits immediately noticed this display.

One small spirit immediately shouted: "She doesn't dare blow it!"

"Because God will confiscate her conch!"

"Hahaha!"

"Too scared to blow it, too scared to blow it!"

Shelly grew angry.

She ran back to retrieve a stone pot from the Pyramid Temple, then quietly returned.

When the most raucous spirit wasn't paying attention, she suddenly leaped from the flower sea and grabbed its stem.

The small spirit trembled in terror as if caught in a vulnerable spot.

Shelly released it with a wicked grin, then planted it in the pot. She paraded through the flower sea carrying the stone pot.

She showed off her trophy, head held high like a victorious general returning from battle.

"Murder!"

"Murder!"

"Save me!"

The small spirit wailed pitifully from the flower pot, crying so dramatically one might think Shelly had done something terrible.

In the end, it frightened itself into submission, cowering in the pot too scared to escape.

But its screams scattered the other spirits, none daring to approach Shelly again.

Shelly carried the flower pot to the Pyramid Temple.

She approached the Creator's throne and set the pot aside.

Here, the small spirit no longer dared to cry out.

It obediently pretended to be a Sun Cup flower.

At this moment, Shelly let out a very long yawn.

Her eyes could barely stay open, as if she might collapse right there for a sweet dream.

From her elegant openwork chair to the right of the divine throne, Dream Sovereign Hila in her golden dress watched Shelly.

The Dream Sovereign walked over and picked up the stone pot.

The small spirit immediately flew out, gesturing dramatically to Dream Sovereign Hila without daring to speak, trying to plead its case.

"Alright, Shelly was just playing with you."

"You're quite mischievous yourself, playing pranks on others days ago, and today even daring to mock God."

"You got what you deserved today."

The small spirit knew this too, but exaggeration and playfulness were simply part of their nature.

Hila gave the small spirit a piece of candy and patted its head.

The small spirit immediately cheered up.

The spirit that had just been screaming about murder and death moments ago now flew out of the Pyramid Temple in the blink of an eye to find its companions and play.

Dream Sovereign Hila looked at Shelly and asked softly: "Ready to sleep?"

Shelly nodded with a gentle sound.

"Mm!"

At this moment, God's Moon in the sky began to change.

A beam of light descended upon the Creator's throne atop the divine platform.

The Creator appeared within the temple.

Shelly sat upon the divine platform, swinging her legs as usual while drifting off to sleep.

Seeing Yin Shen arrive, she briefly roused herself.

Yin Shen looked at Shelly: "Sleep if you wish."

"This is your home. You need not feel any restraint or constraint."

"You are merely having a dream. You remain here, still beside Hila and me."

Shelly nodded, resting her head against the Creator's throne.

She pillowed her face on her hands and suddenly asked:

"Will you watch over me?"

Shelly seemed somewhat anxious, as if afraid Yin Shen would vanish while she slept.

Yin Shen told her: "I will wait for you to awaken."

"When you open your eyes, you will see me, Hila, and everyone welcoming you back."

Shelly nodded contentedly, then fell asleep beside Yin Shen's feet.

As she slumbered, her dreams and consciousness transformed into a dream.

Drifting toward the mortal realm—

On Ruhe Beast Island.

This was an ordinary day for all mortals, neither holiday nor significant date.

Yet on this day, certain deadly forbidden zones across Ruhe Beast Island suddenly underwent unprecedented changes.

The monsters slumbering in the island's depths, bearing the weight of this continent-sized landmass, seemed to sense something. They turned their gazes skyward, then fixed upon a corner in the island's central region.

Outside Moonlight city.

A merchant caravan passing the Moonlight Jungle suddenly saw the entire forest come alive. Countless luminescent roots and vines stretched toward the sky like countless swaying torches.

Though breathtakingly beautiful, the sight filled their hearts with primal terror.

The merchants all knew that within that moonlight-like radiance lay life's untouchable taboo, death's absolute domain.

"What is that?"

"Aren't those trees and vines? Why do they look like tentacles reaching up from underground?"

"They seem to be calling toward the sky, responding to something?"

The merchants had never witnessed such a sight, nor imagined this Moonlight Jungle was truly alive.

They knew only that whoever entered this forbidden forest would never emerge alive.

Yet now they glimpsed the true nature of this deadly forbidden forest.

They strained their eyes skyward, trying to see what the Moonlight Jungle called to.

Yet they saw nothing.

They knew neither what lay in the heavens nor why the Moonlight Jungle waved toward the sky.

An ancient volcano suddenly belched rolling smoke, startling beasts at its foot into panicked flight.

Above a lake marsh, dense black clouds gathered as lightning bolts rained down, forming a sea of thunder.

On another open plain, a mountain range suddenly rose up, as if some terrifying entity beneath the earth had slightly lifted its head.

All these extraordinary phenomena occurred simultaneously.

At that moment, within the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents in Fort Pence, a single person witnessed all these extraordinary visions.

The temple was built entirely of coarse white stone lacking refinement, appearing more like hard, solid white plaster yet far more durable.

The temple had a flat roof supported by twenty-one columns, each so thick it required four or five people to encircle with their arms.

Snake motifs filled the building, along with murals depicting Snake People, the City of Life, and the Mother of All Snakes.

Even the patterns on the columns showed exquisite detail.

The temple's massive, ancient, and rugged nature now merged with its delicate lines and paintings.

Together they created an atmosphere both ancient and sacred.

Female knights in battle dresses bearing long sabers stood before the temple, all of them temple knights.

In the earliest savage times, during the era of the City of Life.

The mightiest hunting parties were formed by women, a tradition most temples had inherited.

The entire temple complex formed a small city within Fort Pence, surrounded by high walls that common people could not enter.

In the temple's deepest chamber, a female Snake Person with cloth-bound eyes suddenly saw light while praying to the Mother of Life.

Before her appeared scenes she should not have been able to see, yet were truly occurring.

This was a blind woman who appeared very old.

When the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents was still just a tribe, she had already served as the tribe's prophet and holy maiden guarding their sacred fire.

They protected their faith and maintained the greatest binding force of their tribe and kingdom.

The Snake People's bloodline power mostly gathered in their eyes, their innate power being petrification.

Yet long ago some Ability bearers discovered that after losing their eyes and power of petrification, they might occasionally gain other powers through special means.

These methods were said to relate to the forbidden zones on Ruhe Beast Island.

Those who underwent this transformation became known as prophets.

Through special connections to this land, they could see events occurring elsewhere, things they yearned for or that related to them.

But other Snake People saw this as prophecy and foresight.

"Moonlight Jungle?"

"And the lava volcano, as well as... the Thunder Marsh?"

"Why do I see these deadly forbidden zones? Why have these places suddenly erupted into unstable states simultaneously?"

The blind woman suddenly saw visions of the Moonlight Jungle and the volcanic eruption.

She also saw endless lightning strikes descending upon a vast marsh and lake.

Questions filled her mind in an instant.

Then she witnessed something beyond mortal comprehension.

She saw the sun setting as stars rose from the horizon.

An existence of unimaginable terror manipulated world and time.

It reached a hand from beyond the world, delivering a glowing egg into this realm.

This was the perspective of the Ruhe beasts.

The giants welcomed their master's will descending into this world.

At this moment, the blind prophet in the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents also witnessed this.

She suddenly stood, supported by two snake priestesses as she faced the towering divine statue.

The priestesses thought she gazed upon God, yet her consciousness had already penetrated the cloth binding, penetrated this temple, seeing distant horizons and events unfolding in this world.

These were sights no mortal should witness.

"What is that?"

"Is that God?"

"Is this what God is, is this divine power?"

"Is this truly God? The supreme sovereign?"

The blind prophet was completely terrified, unable to comprehend this vision.

She could not understand the scene, could not understand what that giant hand reaching in from beyond the heavens meant, could not understand the meaning of that hand delivering a glowing egg into this world.

The moment she saw that hand, she felt herself going mad.

Yet she still strained to observe with her sight, wanting to know what was truly happening in this world.

Finally.

Within that glowing egg, she saw a figure taking shape.

God had sent a being from the divine realm into the mortal world.

Everything ended here, everything concluded.

This was the limit of what she could see.

The moment the blind prophet finished watching, blood tears flowed beneath her bound eyes.

She collapsed before the divine statue, breathing heavily.

She felt her consciousness and soul seeming to dissolve.

"Quickly."

"Summon your captain here."

She spoke to the temple knights guarding the door, and soon the captain of the temple knights arrived.

Her seaweed-like hair bound in a ponytail, wearing magnificent armor and a cape, one hand gripping her sword hilt.

The captain bowed deeply. "I am here, Prophet."

The temple knight captain shared the same rank as the prophet. Without a holy maiden guarding the sacred fire, they controlled this Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.

The blind prophet told the female knight between labored breaths: "In the north."

"A new generation's holy maiden has descended."

The blind woman had barely finished speaking when she suddenly denied her own words.

She cried out loudly: "No."

"She is not a holy maiden, she is God's apostle."

"She is God's beloved, a being personally sent to this world by God."

Yet in the blink of an eye, she grew confused again.

She felt this wasn't right, such an existence could not be explained merely as a divine apostle, and such a God could not be any ordinary deity.

The blind prophet knelt on the ground gesturing wildly like a madwoman.

"Supreme God! Creator of world and all things!"

"What is she?"

"What manner of being is she?"

In her frenzy, the elderly blind woman suddenly noticed the female knight beside her.

She froze for a moment.

Then she stood and carefully observed the female knight's appearance.

Though she had lost her eyes, she could faintly sense certain essential qualities, things invisible to mortal sight.

She suddenly smiled and spoke to the female knight.

"So that's it..."

"I understand now."

The blind prophet told the female knight: "This is why you came here."

The female knight looked bewildered: "What do you mean?"

The blind prophet turned to face the divine statue.

"Forget what I just said, go and bring Her back."

"This is your mission, and our supreme honor."

"Remember."

"You must bring her back safely, completely unharmed."

"Then... protect Her with everything you have."

Having spoken, the elderly blind woman recited one final prayer before the divine statue.

With those final words, she lowered her head and drew her last breath.

The female knight went to check and found she had stopped breathing.

She wore a smile of satisfaction as she embarked upon her final journey.

Thus passed the blind prophet.

She had grown very old, and having glimpsed divine secrets, could no longer withstand the shock of directly beholding God.

The female knight vaguely noticed an issue in the blind prophet's words and voiced her doubt.

"Her?"

She felt the blind prophet must have misspoken in her final excitement.

"Surely you meant 'her'!"

Regardless, she felt she should follow the blind prophet's guidance to see for herself what manner of holy maiden and divine apostle the prophet had spoken of.

Moreover, her heart faintly sensed the blind prophet's earlier words had been correct.

This was her mission.

This was why she had come here.