Chapter 27#
Chapter 27#
At Creation · II
Yu Feichen turned around—and far behind him stood a colossal, pitch‑black gate reaching infinitely into the sky.
Darkness spread in all directions, and this gate seemed to merge seamlessly with the endless night, stretching forth from immeasurable distance.
Twisting over its surface were layers of deep gray‑violet totems, overlapping endlessly—forms both familiar and alien, countless abstract creatures he had seen and never seen. Interwoven with them were intricate, indecipherable runes, each rune emitting faint, ghost‑like motes of light. The gate was split into two halves, and along the lightning‑shaped fissure between them flowed shifting streams of gray.
An indescribable power—felt only by intuition—surged beneath the door. The moment the sight entered his eyes, an ancient terror, vast as the star‑flecked void, hammered directly against his soul.
Beside him, Bai Song stammered, “A‑am I… dead?”
“You’re not dead.” Claros had appeared behind them at some point. He patted Bai Song on the shoulder, startling a scream out of him.
Yu Feichen looked down at Bai Song’s legs—both were whole again, restored to perfect, healthy condition.
Claros withdrew his hand and lifted his gaze. The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the unfathomable gate in the distance.
The Gatekeeper’s voice echoed like a bard’s low chant.
“That is the Gate of Eternal Night—the nightmare of countless lives.”
“And also the beginning of all glory and greatness.”
Yu Feichen stared at the gate. Once he adjusted to its soul‑piercing pressure, he saw beneath its grandeur terror, a profound mystery and beauty.
He asked, “What lies beyond the gate?”
“Come with me.” Claros turned and walked toward another direction. Yu Feichen and Bai Song followed.
“To explain what lies beyond,” Claros said, “I must retell some stories you may already know—about the Paradise. Fortunately, you’ve brought along someone who knows nothing of it. My words will not go to waste.”
Yu Feichen glanced at the utterly overwhelmed Bai Song.
The boy wasn’t just shocked—he was nearly senseless.
Still, his tolerance wasn’t bad. Back in that barracks room, he had been the first to accept the time disorder.
Yu Feichen nodded faintly, signalling Claros to continue.
With a sweep of his sleeve, a ring of crystalline windows, stretching from floor to ceiling, rose out of the darkness. Light streamed in, revealing the scene outside.
They overlooked the entire Paradise.
From near to far: the Incandescent Plaza, the people walking across it, the great hourglass at its center, then the endless variety of vegetation, rivers, mountains, and buildings stretching to the horizon—everything bathed beneath the golden heavens.
“So beautiful,” Bai Song murmured. “Is this heaven?”
“People call this place Paradise—home of the believers of the High God.” Claros smiled slightly. “But to explain its origin, I must show you another place.”
As he spoke, the view outside shifted abruptly. Everything rushed backward like a great tide receding, as if they were flying through clouds. In an instant, they were swept toward Paradise’s distant edge.
Usually, Paradise seemed boundless. Only at its borders could one see that it was in fact a floating golden island suspended in the sky.
Looking down from the edge, they saw an endless ocean. Resting silently upon it were vast continents and island‑chains like scattered stars, stretching beyond sight.
“The lands below are called the Divine Realm—the homeland of God’s children,” Claros said.
“So huge…” Bai Song whispered.
Claros sighed softly. “I’ve long lost count of how many territories He owns, or how many citizens He rules. Every land, every city, every village beneath us has a temple to the High God. He is worshiped by all as the God of Gods, the King of Kings.”
“His kingdom knows no hunger, no war, no poverty. In return, His wise children create endless magic, science, poetry, music, and architecture.”
“Of course, minor disturbances and accidents are inevitable. When that happens, believers from the Paradise must descend to resolve them. The first, second and third gates on the Seventh Floor of the Tower of Creation—the domain of your Goddess of Power, Artega— lead to these troubled lands below.”
(T/N : The Seventh floor and the Goddess of Power was briefly mentioned in Chapter 4 as that is where MC frequents. “Your” Goddess of Power is actually plural, referring to all who participate in these missions, and not MC alone)
He paused. “But as you know—no matter how much God loves His people, turmoil is eternal.”
With another sweep of his sleeve, even the ceiling turned transparent.
Yu Feichen looked up.
His gaze passed through layers of golden clouds. Above the sky, a vast dome formed from flowing nebulae and stardust arched overhead—every grain of dust shimmering faintly.
“That is the Sea of Dust. Every grain of dust is another world, home to countless lives.” Claros looked into the star‑sea and murmured, “Though these worlds now belong to the High God, they have not found peace. Many remain torn with conflict. Some burn with flame and magma. Some face threats from beyond. These are where Artega’s fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh gates lead to—lands of danger.”
“When generation after generation of believers carry divine power into these worlds and fulfil their missions—over long ages—they grow calm, prosperous, and gradually sink downward, becoming part of the Divine Realm.”
“Innumerable… dangerous worlds?” Bai Song stared upward, whispering, “So I… I came from one of those?”
“You?” Claros patted his head with mock affection. “Have to wait.”
“…For what?”
“For me to finish speaking.”
“…Oh.” He seemed overwhelmed, and after asking Claros, he turned to Yu Feichen with a pleading look. Yu Feichen patted his shoulder, signalling him to pay attention.
The view shifted again—from the vast Divine Realm back to Incandescent Plaza of Paradise.
The plaza bustled with people.
Claros gently began trying to lead Bai Song around. “So, from what I’ve just told you, you should be able to guess that God requires countless believers willing to go through fire and water for Him—where then, do these believers come from?”
Bai Song echoed blankly, “Where do they come from?”
Yu Feichen turned away toward the window, overlooking Paradise in silence. He showed no expression, as though the Gatekeeper’s words had nothing to do with him.
Claros answered Bai Song.
“From God’s own people. In the Divine Realm, countless wish to become the High God’s envoys and believers, yearning for glory and reward. Of course, there are those driven by ambition as well. At times, temples must impose strict trials to limit how many may enter Paradise.”
“As for the worlds in the Sea of Dust—even amidst their turmoil, priests sent by God select the exceptional and bring them upward. Ordinary believers may also bring back companions they favor.”
“Like me?” Bai Song asked.
His mind seemed to drift. “So… Brother Yu must like me a lot.”
Claros, “You? Don’t hold your breath waiting.”
Bai Song, “…”
“Now you understand Paradise, the Divine Realm, the believers, and the bonds between them.”
“Do I?” Bai Song mumbled. “Why am I still dreaming? Is the sun not up yet?”
Claros, “Now I ask you a question.”
“…Okay.”
“The Divine Realm forms from the descent of worlds in the Sea of Dust. Then where do the worlds in the Sea of Dust come from?”
Bai Song blurted out, “My leg—how did my leg heal?!”
Claros fell silent.
Yu Feichen almost snorted out a laugh.
Then he was called on. “Yu Feichen. You answer.”
With a gesture, Claros dismissed the windows and skylight, plunging the world back into darkness.
That the Gatekeeper knew his name did not surprise Yu Feichen. The gods of the Tower of Creation seemed to share a single perfect database: names, personalities, histories—even complaint records. It was one reason the High God’s supposed omniscience unsettled him.
He recalled the question from Claros.
Where did the High God’s countless worlds come from?
Indeed, a world could not appear out of thin air. Nor would they simply sit quietly, waiting for someone to rule them.
And certainly they would not flock to God’s domain simply because his messengers declared “God loves all.” Nor didhebelieve such a God existed either.
For some roads must be paved in blood. And God’s kingdom was vast—too vast, too solid to be built peacefully.
So the answer could not lie within God’s dominion. It must lieoutsideit.
And from what little he knew, there was only one place within Paradise not ruled by the High God.
He looked toward the gate.
Everything in the Paradise belonged to light—even the sky forever shone with the gold of eternal dusk, God’s blessing like sunlight over all.
But this door was called the Gate of Eternal Night.
Where daylight could not reach, and darkness reigned.
And so, gazing at the gate, Yu Feichen spoke the answer he had already decided on:
“From beyond the gate.”
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Bai Song is such a cutie.
Happy reading~
-Syeki
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