Chapter 126#
Creation Twenty#
Outsiders called the Chief God’s domain “Eternal Day.” His subjects called it the “Divine Realm.” The believers of Eden considered the Tower of Creation to be the center of the world. But within the Divine Realm, it was Landenwaren — the “Land of Sacred Redemption” — that was the holy place worth aspiring toward for an entire lifetime.
It was vast, rivaling a kingdom of sweeping territory. Viewed from Eden looking down, Landenwaren looked like a snow-white flower blooming across the surface of the Divine Realm. And traveling through it overland, past mountain ranges and rivers, they found themselves in a resplendent place of endless variety.
“No one could travel the entire Divine Realm in a lifetime, but in Landenwaren, you can experience the most of it.” A silver-haired youth in white robes made his way along the train carriage to Yu Feichen’s side, smiling as he spoke. “Good to see you again, Brother Yu. The captain sent me to be your guide.”
The Chief God’s gaze drew back from the window and settled on Xiassen.
When their eyes met, Xiassen gave a sudden small start.
When he’d heard from the captain that Brother Yu had brought someone to Landenwaren, a brief description had been enough for him to guess that the other person must be that figure from the rumors — the one who had appeared only briefly on Sunset Glow Street, like a flash in the pan.
An entire age had passed without anyone emerging who had a relationship with Yu Feichen that wasn’t purely a hired one. And the recent rumors carried a faint, ambiguous undertone. Xiassen had already spent some time privately imagining what sort of person that might be.
— He hadn’t expected to see eyes like these.
His first thought was: someone like Brother Yu. Behind a thin layer of cool detachment, not quite… like a person.
But that strange impression vanished as quickly as it had come. The other’s expression was utterly calm and clear. How could someone come on such an ordinary little sightseeing route, Xiassen thought, when they clearly have eyes that have seen every landscape in the world.
Before he could fully recover from the ripple in his thoughts, the person spoke — his voice as unhurried as his manner. Xiassen heard a gentle greeting: “Hello.”
“…Hello.” Xiassen answered instinctively. “My name is Xiassen. Brother Yu once brought us on a mission.”
He paused, then recovered his usual composure, and said softly: “And what should I call you?”
The Chief God glanced over at Yu Feichen across the carriage, and considered for a moment.
“Anfei,” He said.
Then the Chief God invited Xiassen to come sit beside him.
The faint daze Xiassen had been feeling lifted almost immediately after exchanging a few words with Anfei. He decided everything before had been an illusion — when Anfei smiled, his eyes were softer than dusk over Eden, and Xiassen felt at ease. It was a different kind of ease from the kind he felt when Brother Yu led them on missions.
Anfei looked at the tear-mole at the corner of his eye — that particular shade was unmistakably from the juice of the eternal-sleep flower.
“Are you from Landenwaren?”
“I was born and raised in Landenwaren. After coming of age, I passed the temple’s selection and went to Eden,” Xiassen said.
“You still look like a child.”
Xiassen said quietly: “I can already take on the Gate Seven missions.”
Anfei smiled slightly. “Tell me about Landenwaren,” he said.
Xiassen was now certain this wasn’t what the captain had described as “Brother Yu taking someone out to play,” but rather “Brother Yu accompanying someone out to play.” In which case joining a tour group really was the best choice — he didn’t believe Yu Feichen was a capable companion.
Going out for fun with Brother Yu. That’s just wrong.
Yu Feichen was finding Xiassen a little irritating.
On the other side, Xiassen had identified who his primary audience was, and launched into the story of Landenwaren, beginning from the very beginning.
According to ancient legend, Landenwaren was created by the God — the first subjects were also fashioned by His own hands. First came the Chief God, then Landenwaren, then the Divine Realm, and only lastly Eden.
Peaceful, abundant, prosperous, generous. The first people multiplied and thrived. Visitors from other parts of the Divine Realm came drawn by its reputation. Slowly, gradually, Landenwaren became the most wondrous and beautiful place there was.
“Landenwaren produced the finest poets, scholars, and artists — and of course, the most valiant warriors in all of Eden. Its most distinctive quality is that the laws the God laid down for this land are the most permissive of all. It is a realm that encompasses every type of power. Here you can find nearly every kind of landscape and architecture, and see entirely different civilizations living side by side.”
Xiassen thought for a moment and added: “The Goddess of Fate and the God of Life love coming here most. I once encountered the Goddess of Fate on the Ezekiel Plains — she said she came to observe the collisions and evolutions between different elements, and to study how the most intricate and perfect systems of power in existence come to be formed.”
With the history told, it was time to introduce the sights. Their route cut straight across the whole of Landenwaren, taking in scenery and ancient ruins.
Yu Feichen watched out the window too.
Building a self-consistent world out of chaotic, disparate forces was profoundly difficult. If you wanted a world to be as stable as possible, the rules had to be as simple as possible. A world with ghosts couldn’t have a fully developed science; a magic system based on spells and one based on runes were hard to make coexist. Seen in that light, Landenwaren was truly a remarkable creation.
Long ago, Mogulrosh had tried to reform him — he had invited him for tea and a talk, and asked: Little Yu, do you have any friends?
No.
Any hobbies?
No.
Anything you particularly want to do?
No.
Mogulrosh had sighed deeply. Then do you feel any happiness from the missions you’ve successfully carried out? Do you understand what they mean?
He hadn’t answered that one. Mogulrosh had said: Go take a walk through Landenwaren.
Now he was in Landenwaren. But he found the scenery and the ruins nothing special to look at — Eden had things like these too. The only thing that made this journey feel different was Anfei being here.
After Xiassen’s guided tour concluded, only the two of them were left in the carriage.
By now night had fallen. The unicorn carriage glided lightly through a forest — magical plants grew everywhere; the trees, vines, and flowers all gave off a soft luminescence.
“The last time I came to Landenwaren, it wasn’t this beautiful,” Anfei said, reaching his hand out toward the window. A wisp of firefly-like smoke settled between his fingers and drifted into the carriage.
Yu Feichen: “How long ago was that?”
Anfei thought back for a moment before answering: “Thirty-four ages ago.”
The fireflies cast the carriage in a soft, distant glow.
“While you were sleeping,” Yu Feichen said, “what were you doing?”
“Dealing with my power,” Anfei said. “It doesn’t always obey.”
And then Anfei spoke of his power.
He possessed a great deal of it, but power had many demands placed upon it. Sustaining the Divine Realm, sustaining Eden, granting authority to the divine officials, repelling the Outer Gods — and countless other uses. To keep his power running in an orderly way, he had established laws.
“But power can never truly be tamed easily. That is the same for any divine being.” Anfei looked at him as he spoke. “And moreover… my power is especially formidable.”
Will sets the laws; laws constrain power; and from that, everything else follows.
But power itself is chaotic and sharp in its very nature — it was never destined to be a docile pet, but a wolf-dog that resists breaking. Should the will, laws, and essence of the one who holds power show even the slightest weakness, the power will turn and devour them.
Being a God was not, it seemed, a once-and-done sort of vocation.
Yu Feichen said: “I heard about what happened at the Resurrection Day before last.”
Anfei blinked. For a brief instant, his expression went blank — the look of it was almost innocent.
After that blank moment, he smiled.
“Something did happen at the Resurrection Day before last,” he said. “Claros told you?”
Only a few divine officials had known about the accident on Resurrection Day — it had to have been Claros stirring things up. The Gatekeeper was good in every other respect, but had perhaps a slight blind spot: he’d chosen to spread alarm to precisely the person in all of Eden with the least attachment to the place.
“Your power went out of control — and then?”
“Eden was besieged, and its barriers failed. So I went out through the Gate of Eternal Night. I had very little power to draw on at the time, and could only fight in the most economical way possible — much like what you experienced inside the Gate of Eternal Night. I went to the world of the Outer Gods. The war reached some worlds that had originally been unclaimed.” Anfei’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if describing something as simple as breathing or drinking water. “I rarely fail, so everything is fine now.”
“That was when you appeared,” Anfei said at last.
Yu Feichen said he knew that.
He then said: what I’m asking is — how is your power now?
He actually cares about Eden. Anfei couldn’t help a flicker of surprise.
But just at that moment, the Proverb Vine on Anfei’s wrist suddenly woke up. It became unusually animated, looping around his wrist several times in quick succession, like it was dancing.
Yu Feichen: “…What does it want to say.”
Anfei chose his words carefully, then answered: “You’ve asked a rather… interesting question.”