Can I See What It Looks Like When the Sun Goes Out?

Holding the stone tablet in its mouth, the feathered serpent hovered in the sky.

It soon caught the attention of the Demon Spirits in the city.

Many Demon Spirits curiously observed the strange, winged creature.

A gateway finally opened in the sky barrier, allowing the feathered serpent to fly through.

The feathered serpent carried the stone tablet to the front of the Demon Spirit Pyramid.

The guards at the pyramid's entrance were startled, and they stared at the enormous creature.

"What kind of strange thing is that?" asked several Demon Spirit puppets, including a fire demon whose head was a glass container.

"It has wings, so it can fly," one of the Demon Spirit puppets remarked. They had heard of matters from the outside world but had never seen a feathered serpent.

A kite-shaped Demon Spirit descended from the sky. "How can something so large fly?" it asked, its colorful, painted face changing as the voice emerged from the wind.

"More importantly, how did it get in here?" a guard demanded, his concern overriding his curiosity.

"Lady Elena must have let it in," one Demon Spirit suggested, glancing toward the depths of the pyramid.

A ripple passed through the air, and in an instant, the enormous feathered serpent vanished.

The feathered serpent felt the world turn upside down. When it regained its senses, it found the inverted pyramid had righted itself.

The temple stood atop the Demon Spirit Pyramid. Elena, whom the feathered serpent had met recently, appeared on the stairway and immediately noticed the stone tablet the creature had set down. It was the reason she had allowed it to enter.

"So, you discovered this," she stated.

Elena looked from the stone tablet to the feathered serpent.

"Did you read the text on the stone tablet?" she asked.

The former Knight of the Abyss Kingdom fixed her gaze on the feathered serpent. Her face was expressionless and she did not move, yet an intense killing intent radiated from her, making the feathered serpent feel tremendous pressure.

Even if it had discovered the stone tablet, it could not have known its true significance without understanding the text.

How could a former Snake Person understand Wisdom Text? The only possibility was that it had received the inheritance from the Wisdom Text Stone Tablet in the temple.

But Elena could not understand how it had survived.

The feathered serpent hesitated, its voice soft. "I..."

Before the feathered serpent could answer, Elena perceived something from the consciousness waves it emitted.

"God's Moon saved you," she stated, her tone firm.

"You must have bathed in the light of the divine moon. That is what counteracted the backlash."

Elena's severe tone softened as she quietly observed the feathered serpent.

"You have been protected by the Creator."

Whether by luck or genuine favor, it seemed to be an arrangement of fate.

From Elena's perspective, perhaps this was a fate it had earned.

Hearing the Creator's name mentioned again, the feathered serpent finally could not help but ask.

"Lady Elena," it called out, "who exactly is the Creator?"

"And why does the stone tablet place the Life Sovereign beneath another deity?"

Elena, however, did not give the feathered serpent the answer it sought.

"If you can become Mythical one day, then you will know."

"If you cannot become Mythical, then there is no need to know."

Elena raised her hand, and the ancient stone tablet floated up from the steps.

Outside the Demon Spirit Pyramid lay many such stone fragments, all discarded by the ancestors of the People of the Abyss. Elena had never imagined that something like this would be among them.

Or perhaps, after growing accustomed to everything in the Abyss Royal City, she had simply forgotten about the objects tucked away in its nooks and crannies.

The power of the Ruhe Beast had preserved the city, along with these stones.

While those broken stones might not have much value, this stone tablet was completely different.

This stone tablet, much like the Moon Tower, had once been recorded in historical documents as an artifact left by the second Wisdom King, Yesael.

The feathered serpent had believed the "Prince of the Moon" was simply a title, a name for a figure buried deep in history.

It did not know that this figure had another title.

The second Wisdom King, Yesael.

Elena looked at the feathered serpent.

"Do you understand?" she asked.

"If you gave this stone tablet to the goddess you worship, you could perhaps obtain what you desire."

The feathered serpent recoiled at her words, insulted.

It answered Elena firmly. "This is not mine. I will not take what belongs to another, nor will I use someone else's possessions to achieve my goals."

"I will never forget that I was once a Snake Person."

"Being a Snake Person is not merely about the body, but also about the inherent principles and civilization that shaped us."

The feathered serpent's voice trembled with emotion as it continued.

"I am not a monster, Lady Elena."

"I am... a person!"

Elena was stunned.

She looked at this Snake Person who had transformed into a monster and realized she might have underestimated it.

It was not powerful and might even be considered timid or cowardly.

But despite all that, despite losing everything that made it a Snake Person, it still held firmly to certain principles.

That was worthy of admiration.

Elena straightened her posture, standing tall.

"You are right. You are not a monster," she said.

"You are a Snake Person."

She glanced at the stone tablet. "You have given this to me, so I should offer you some compensation."

As she finished speaking, a massive shadow appeared behind her.

It was a ghost form.

An enormous ghostly image of a knight, wearing armor and carrying a Ruhe sword, placed its hand on the feathered serpent's head.

The feathered serpent immediately felt a secret technique flow into its mind.

She had given the Art of God's Grace to the feathered serpent.

"This is the original Art of God's Grace," she explained.

"It is the method to become an Apostle."

"All beings in the present age who have taken the path of Apostleship emerged from this Art. However, the divine grace of old is no longer suited to this era."

The feathered serpent had received the secret to becoming an Apostle, an unexpected blessing.

Elena watched as the creature, a person in a monstrous body, left the Tower Spirit's domain and disappeared into the ripples.

She turned, carrying the stone tablet back into the temple.

She enshrined the stone tablet within the Tower Spirit's domain, preserving it with great care.

Trading the Art of God's Grace for such a stone tablet might have seemed like an uneven exchange.

But this stone came from the second Wisdom King, Yesael. It recorded the scene of King Yesael facing the Yinsai God, making the mere Art of God's Grace seem insignificant in comparison.

Elena looked at the stone tablet in the temple and carefully read about King Yesael's audience with the deity.

"Prince Yesael humbly entered the temple, following the great King Redlichia."

"He beheld the eternal god."

"..."

"The deity who controls the laws of time beyond ancient ages emitted a radiance as brilliant as stars. Light engulfed the prince, and everything within sight turned white-hot."

At this point, Elena paused.

She thought to herself that perhaps the fate of the Trilobite Men and the People of the Abyss had been sealed at this very moment.

King Redlichia chose his favorite youngest son, Yesael, and brought him into Yinsai's hall. This caused envy and hatred to form in Ense's heart.

In the ancient era, the People of the Abyss hated Yesael.

They believed that because Ense was King Redlichia's firstborn, Yesael had stolen his rightful position as Wisdom King.

If it were not for Yesael, Ense would not have committed the sin that earned divine rejection.

But by Elena's generation, the old grievances had long been carried away by the wind. Those ancient hatreds had transformed into an untouchable mythology.

Even the concepts of divine punishment and sin had become distant and sacred, far beyond reach.

Whether it was those who became kings or those who were punished, everything had become an arrangement of destiny.

Elena held no hatred toward Yesael.

To her, he was simply a figure from mythology, the son of King Redlichia.

Whatever grievances and hatreds existed between these beings, it was not for her to judge.

"The Prince of the Moon."

"The second Wisdom King, Yesael."

"The firstborn of the Divine King, Ense."

"The second son of the Divine King, Boon."

"Ense and Boon committed the sin of patricide against King Redlichia. They ultimately lost their identity as Trilobite Men and were punished by being sent to the dark Abyss."

"King Yesael, who wore the crown, eventually died under Ense's curse and lost the authority of Wisdom."

This was the story passed down through generations of the People of the Abyss.

Merely speaking those ancient names aloud conveyed a sense of solemnity.

To Elena, all of this was mythology.

Below the stone tablet, Ghost Elena's face reflected a blend of emotions, shifting between awe and contemplation.

Then, for some unknown reason, Ghost Elena repeated the words the feathered serpent had said.

"I am not a monster!"

"I am a person!"

After the mythological era ended, a king once called a monster had said these words to his son and all his subjects.

"We are not monsters."

"We are people."

This was why Elena had been so stunned when she heard the feathered serpent speak those words.

Elena suddenly remembered that long, long ago, they too had been called monsters.

Because of those words, the People of the Abyss emerged from darkness and built their civilization.

As Elena spoke these words, she felt as though she had formed a connection with something hidden deep within the unknown.

The stone tablet before her was the first to react. Phantoms began to appear upon its surface.

In that instant, faint ripples appeared above the Dream Starry Sea, within the Sun Flower Garden of the God-Given Land.

Elena raised her head and looked toward the stone tablet, now showing anomalous images upon its surface.

Elena knew only that the stone tablet had been left by Yesael. She did not know its subsequent story.

The stone tablet held the marks of the great poet Tito and the first Demon Abyss King. After discovering the tablet and documenting its inscriptions, they had set out on a sacred journey.

In the end, the great poet Tito returned with the faith and history of the Trilobite Men, while the first Demon Abyss King remained forever within the Creator's Sun Flower Sea.

Elena saw a blind Trilobite Man and an Abyss Kingdom dweller wearing a stone helmet walking side by side through the sea, heading toward the distance.

At first, Elena did not understand what was happening, but she quickly realized who she was seeing.

A blind Trilobite Man. An Abyss Kingdom dweller wearing a stone helmet.

Any Abyss Kingdom dweller or Trilobite Man would immediately recognize these two figures.

Elena's voice grew excited, and her ghostly face showed a moved expression.

"The great poet Tito."

"And the first King of the Abyss?"

In the vision, the two figures walked farther and farther away, about to vanish into the distance.

Elena could not help but follow them, unconsciously reaching out to touch the elderly Abyss Kingdom dweller in the stone helmet, her direct ancestor.

At that moment, Elena's consciousness felt as though it were being drawn to another point in time.

Elena felt a wave of disorientation. When it passed, she found the entire world had changed.

She stood before the sea, but it was not the sea of her time. It was the sea of ancient times, where extinct Ancestral Fish swam.

Whoosh!

The wind blew past, and she heard sounds from behind.

Elena turned around in confusion and found herself standing before a sea of flowers as brilliantly gold as the sun.

The golden Sun Cups formed an ocean, swaying gently in the wind.

The gold itself conveyed a sense of sacredness, representing the eternal sun in the eyes of mortals.

Elena raised her head.

Atop the pyramid stood the eternal temple.

A massive dream bubble encased the magnificent pyramid, with countless colorful phantasms flowing across its surface.

Unlike her own Demon Spirit Pyramid or any mortal divine temple, this had been built by the Wisdom King and Mother of Life. It was the abode of the Yinsai God.

Elena was completely stunned, but she had a rough idea of where she was.

"The God-Given Land!" she whispered. "This is... the dwelling place of the Yinsai God."

Elena had never imagined she would one day witness the God-Given Land, even if this vision was from 250 million years in the past.

Then, she witnessed an incredible scene.

She saw the great poet Tito carrying the first Demon Abyss King on his back. They approached from the distance and gradually stepped onto the God-Given Land, the true homeland of the Trilobite Men and the People of the Abyss.

Elena knew what she was seeing. It was the pilgrimage of the great poet Tito and the first Demon Abyss King.

She watched her ancestor, the old man with the stone helmet, struggle to his feet at the shore and slowly walk into the sea of flowers.

He knelt down, extending his arms before him.

Facing the temple, he kowtowed.

By the time the two had arrived, they seemed completely exhausted.

The only things sustaining their journey were their faith and the answers they sought in their hearts.

The great poet had not yet found his answer, but the old man with the stone helmet had found his.

The young great poet walked ahead, then turned back to call to the old man.

"Aren't you going up?" he asked.

"Didn't you come here to find an answer?"

The old man with the stone helmet raised himself up. He removed the helmet from his head and spoke his final words.

This old man, who had called himself a monster, now smiled with profound peace.

He was a being called a monster by others, yet his eyes revealed purely human emotions.

"No need," he said.

"I have... found my answer."

With these words, the old man tilted his head back. He faced the temple as he met his end.

Yet this simple phrase made Elena tremble with emotion.

If she had not already been transformed into a puppet, she would likely have been in tears.

The great poet Tito stood in the Sun Flower Sea, watching as the old man's body was engulfed by the golden flowers. Then, the entire world gradually faded into nothingness.

The ancient vision ended.

After 250 million years, everything was in the past, and the People of the Abyss had transformed into Demon Spirit puppets.

The puppet stood in the temple, repeating the words her ancestor once spoke.

"We are not monsters."

"We are people."

She walked step by step toward the stone tablet, as if she were saying these words to her ancestors.

"My ancestor," Elena whispered softly, "you wanted to tell me this, didn't you?"

"No matter how our bodies change, and no matter how much we have lost."

"We are people."

"We are the descendants of Ense and Boon. All of us carry the bloodline of the Wisdom King."

As the visions faded, Elena seemed to find her own answer as well.

She raised her head and looked toward the statue of Yinsai.

Suddenly, the entire Demon Spirit Pyramid erupted with an intense light, sending a pillar shooting skyward.

Elena made her final decision and took a step toward mythology.

In the Abyss Royal City, all the Demon Spirits looked toward the Demon Spirit Pyramid.

They saw a huge, illusory figure appear within the pillar of light, its voice carrying across the distance.

"Monster!"

"Demon Spirit!"

"Abyss Kingdom!"

"From today onwards, we are one. We are the civilization of the Abyss Kingdom, the race of Demon Spirits, and the foundation of monsters."

"We shall become one race and pioneer the road to the future."

This call from Elena alone was not enough. It needed the acknowledgment of all monsters to succeed.

At that moment, all monsters on Ruhe Beast Island, along with those scattered across the seas and even on another continent, responded to Elena's call.

Roar!

Fire demons burst from the swamps, stone demons ran across the earth, and winged demons soared through the sky.

Thousands upon thousands of monsters roared, bellowing toward the sky in response to Elena's covenant.

They were responding to a chance to change their fate, a chance that had arrived after countless years.

In the sky, God's Moon began to shift. Deep within the supreme Divine Artifact, the Crown of Wisdom, something stirred.

A voice emerged from the silver moon. It was the voice of a young girl, her tone filled with curiosity.

"Shall we agree?" she asked.

After a long while, a response came.

"The covenant is established."

On the eternal Crown of Wisdom, tiny text slowly extended outward. The Monster Covenant had changed, with an addition at the end.

It was exactly what Elena had just said.

In the Endless Desert, the Demon Spirit Pyramid of the Abyss Royal City advanced toward mythology. Its pillar of light shifted into a surge of power that extended into the Dream Realm, unlocking its gates.

In the Dream Realm, another Demon Spirit Pyramid emerged, its presence blending seamlessly with the ethereal surroundings.

It now existed in reality and in the Dream Realm simultaneously.

Elena stood before the Demon Spirit Pyramid and divided the surging power within the pillar of light into four parts.

Elena, the most ancient Apostle, had transformed into the Tower Spirit. Monsters from distant lands rushed to the Endless Desert, eager to become Demon Spirits within the city, a transformation now strengthened by the recent covenant.

The Demon Spirit Pyramid advanced two positions from sequence number 10, reaching the minimum threshold required for a Mythical Artifact. These sequence numbers were determined by the amount of Divine Blood.

However, to become a true Wisdom Ability Mythical Artifact, it needed to develop its own spirit.

Alternatively, one could use the four-part secret technique of the Art of God's Grace to merge with it, substituting for the Divine Artifact's spirit.

"Four parts of Divine Grace."

"Spirituality."

"Wisdom."

"Desire."

"Knowledge."

The originally vast and mixed power instantly arranged itself according to some mysterious rule, giving birth to a brand new power.

Elena completely merged with the Demon Spirit Pyramid, becoming its true master rather than controlling it through her ghost form.

She had now ascended to Mythical status, though it was in the form of a Mythical Artifact.

Perhaps it was no longer right to call her "she."

For she was no longer just a woman.

She was a Divine.

Beneath the sea of flowers blooming with Sun Cups, on the rotating supreme Divine Artifact known as the Divine Cup, new information appeared.

【Divine Artifact: Demon Spirit Pyramid (Mythical)】

【Sequence Number 8】

【Ability 1 Wisdom Circuit: The Demon Spirit Pyramid can bestow wisdom circuit structures upon monster bodies. This secret technique originates from the Anhofus Bone Demon Transformation Secret regarding bone demon brain circuits, allowing lower-tier monster body structures to accommodate wisdom.】

【Ability 2 Pyramid Spirit: The Yinsai Temple apostle Elena used her ghost and divine grace to merge with the Demon Spirit Pyramid, becoming the core of the Demon Spirit Pyramid. The Pyramid Tower Spirit is the consciousness sovereign of all demon spirits, able to bestow the light of consciousness to all demon spirits and control the entire Demon Spirit Domain.】

【Ability 3 Tower Spirit Realm: This is a domain formed by a Mythical artifact which opens the gates to the Dream Realm. Tower Spirit Elena possesses Mythical authority and can accept sacrifices and communications from other beings through divine names and rituals. All Demon Spirits can also connect with the Pyramid Spirit through the Dream Realm's passage, no longer limited by a specific range.】

【Ability 4 Demon Spirit Oath: Demon Spirits are the advanced form of monsters. Elena inherited the former monster oath and added the new Demon Spirit covenant. This oath received the Creator's approval. "Monster, Demon Spirit, and Abyss People are one from today onwards, the civilization of the Abyss Kingdom, the race of Demon Spirits, the foundation of monsters. We shall become one race, pioneering the road to the future."】 (Monsters still follow the covenant not to enter any city of the Trilobite Men and People of the Abyss. After transforming into Demon Spirits, they only need to follow the Demon Spirit oath.)

Within the Abyss Royal City

All Demon Spirits felt the chains that had confined them to the city suddenly break.

The Demon Spirit Pyramid in the depths of the Dream Realm now functioned like a massive ritual altar, connecting all Demon Spirits.

From now on, all Demon Spirits could leave the Abyss Royal City and travel to other parts of the world.

"Can you feel it?" Demon Spirits shouted as they walked through the streets and alleys.

"We're free!" some Fire Demon Spirits yelled, using Divine Techniques to create celebratory fireworks in the sky.

"We can go outside and see the world!" exclaimed the Demon Spirit puppets, eager to step outside the city.

But some Demon Spirits sat leisurely on suspension bridges, unmoved by the cheering crowds.

"I don't want to leave. The Abyss Royal City is wonderful, so why go anywhere else?"

"Exactly. Why go out?"

"It would be nice to go out and look around. Besides, we can always come back."

"There's a big difference between choosing not to go out and not being able to go out."

Elena's enormous phantom overlooked the entire world, watching the frenzied Demon Spirits.

The first one to rush out of the Abyss Royal City was Ray.

He piloted his flying machine, followed by a group of kite-shaped Demon Spirits, and circled around Elena's enormous phantom.

"Haha! I'm flying out!" he yelled. "Lady Elena, are you watching? I'm really out here, flying free!"

Ray shouted with the joy of a child.

Elena watched him with a smile.

Ray flew very fast, soon becoming a black dot in the sky.

"I want to go farther, to see the ocean, to reach the other side," Ray shouted, his voice full of excitement.

"And I want to go to..."

His words carried through the sea of clouds, breaking apart in the wind but lingering in the vast sky.

"To the end of the world!"

He could finally soar freely through the sky, without any restrictions.

Elsewhere, the feathered serpent also rose into the air and flew alongside him.

Ray looked at the feathered serpent and laughed loudly.

"Hahahahaha!"

Far in the distance, at the edge of the sky's sea of clouds.

No one saw a hot air balloon airship, recently emerged from the Dream Realm, pass through the sea of clouds and vanish in a flash.

In the Abyss

Behind the Door of Original Sin, within the Flesh and Blood Star, Xiao stood up from his seat for the first time in a long while, gazing into the distance.

He stood by the table, his hand pressed on a book titled 《The Crown of Wisdom Covenant and the Second Path to True Divinity》.

He was observing the scene of Elena's ascension to mythology.

However, he was not watching how she became Mythical. Rather, he was focused on the impact her ascension would have, as she was a being of the monster and Demon Spirit race.

The moment Elena ascended to the divine position as the Lord of Monsters and Demon Spirits, Xiao clearly noticed a response. God's Moon, which had dimmed its radiance in the depths of the endless starry sky, stirred.

Xiao spoke to the ceramic figurine, though it seemed he was also speaking to himself.

"Do you see that? The covenant has connected with the Source of Wisdom."

"Through the covenant method, another path to true divinity can surely be found."

"Could it be the God of Contracts?"

But Xiao quickly rejected his own suggestion.

Xiao immediately grasped the essence of the covenant. It was the grace bestowed by the Crown of Wisdom upon every wisdom race.

As the supreme Wisdom Divine Artifact, it granted each wisdom race the opportunity to survive in this world. This was the essence of the covenant.

"Not the God of Contracts," he murmured. "But the God of Races."

If obtaining the Wisdom Fruit and ascending to divinity through the four paths constituted the first path, then perhaps communicating with the Crown of Wisdom through the race covenant was the second path.

Xiao had finally confirmed it. The second path truly existed.

The book under his hand unconsciously underwent a transformation.

The last few characters on the book cover distorted, changing into different characters. The new title read, 《The Crown of Wisdom Covenant and the Path of Race True Divinity》.

The ceramic figurine, however, gazed toward God's Moon with a mixture of longing and fear.

"God, will the Creator notice us?"

"We are..." its voice trembled, "the villains!"

The ceramic figurine was usually exceptionally fierce, especially with a being like Xiao backing it. But now, upon seeing God's Moon, it seemed to shrink into a terrified ball.

It seemed afraid that the moonlight would penetrate the darkness and discover its presence.

Xiao was amused by the ceramic figurine's words and glanced at it.

"Villains?" he asked.

"Is that how you see yourself?"

Xiao slowly sat down with the book. "Does justice or evil even hold meaning before the Creator?" he asked.

"He transcends the universe and time. With just a blink, everything in this world would instantly vanish. He crosses 250 million years in a single step, because time for Him is like a river He can simply leap out of."

"If He were to withdraw His grace, all life would vanish. The world's wisdom and dreams would fade into nothingness. Everything would return to eternal darkness."

"For such a being, do good and evil, right and wrong, still hold any meaning?"

The ceramic figurine asked, "Then what are we?"

Xiao replied, "To mortals, we are gods. To Yinsai, we are nothing."

Xiao lowered his head and opened the book in his hand.

After a moment, he finally said, "But in this era, our role is to be the Darkness of All Spirits."

"This is perhaps how Yinsai views us, as shadows beneath the light."

"It is unrelated to justice or evil, and unrelated to weakness or strength."

"Everything in this world is nothing more than light and shadow shaped by time."

Xiao had intended to write something, but he stopped.

He raised his head, looking through the Door of Original Sin toward the starry sky of the mortal world.

He suddenly said, "I truly wish I could keep gazing at God's Moon until I completely melted into it. Even if I died, the feeling of drowning in it would be desirable."

"Within God's Moon, there is a truth that transcends everything."

Xiao suddenly smiled.

"If the Creator truly wishes to punish me, I would greatly look forward to it."

"At that time, I would certainly ask Him."

"What exactly is God? Why is God called God?"

"What is this world really like? What is the universe He speaks of? And what does He mean when He says the sun will also go out?"

"Can I see what it looks like when the sun goes out?"

Xiao's eyes sparkled with longing. The sun, an entity of unimaginable eternity, fascinated him, and he deeply desired to witness what the end of such a presence would look like.

"That must be... magnificent."