Only God

"You may be wrong; he is but a legendary figure, and many of his deeds are only attested by solitary evidence, yet you are real."

Xilan nodded his head, as if accepting the praise.

Then, Prince Mura went on to inquire about some research matters from Belvan, and it seemed that all was going very smoothly. Xilan's involvement had brought even more inspiration to the research, and it wouldn't be long before the research would advance to a new stage.

Prince Mura was extremely satisfied with this response; he found no fault in it and simply assured his teacher that, now that he was temporarily in charge of the kingdom's affairs, he would undoubtedly provide even greater support than his father had.

Not long after, Prince Mura left the study to re-engage with the kingdom's political matters.

The Dwarf Prince would not have imagined that the Xilan he met was not someone mistakenly sharing the name, but the bona fide Disciple Xilan.

After Mura's departure, Xilan turned to look at Belvan.

Since the Dream God Laren had invaded his dreams, Xilan had left the prison and sought out Belvan, who was investigating the paths of divine creation.

After reviewing Belvan's research, Xilan couldn't help but be amazed. Although he found some parts to be replete with errors to his eye, the overall framework was correct, which was indeed invaluable.

He greatly admired the Alchemist before him.

For that reason, he intervened to protect him from the interference of the Gods.

Since the Dream God Laren suffered heavy damage from the intrusion into the dreams, He had set His sights on targeting Belvan, the scholar.

Even though the Law prevented Laren from acting directly, He allowed His Priest Nelson to bestow the grace of dreams.

And all of this had been prevented by Xilan.

What Xilan had done was quite simple; since Nelson had invaded Belvan's dreams, so Xilan built a "false dream" for Belvan, hiding the "true dream" within the protection of the "false dream."

As a result, Nelson would believe that he had successfully invaded Belvan's dreams and influenced him when, in reality, this was not the case. Belvan had been well-protected, and he had not had a nightmare for many days.

However, what may deceive Nelson might not necessarily deceive Laren, the master of dreams. Laren didn't need to invade Belvan's dreams, just a simple glance would allow Him to see exactly what had occurred.

Precisely because of this, Xilan had set up a Barrier around the areas where Belvan frequently operated, and the power of this Barrier originated from the Great Angel Schiller.

On his own, Xilan could not deceive the eyes of the Divine, but with the help of a Great Angel, deceiving the Divine would be an easy task.

The current Dream God Laren believed Belvan's research was hindered, disheartened, and jubilated over it, not realizing that He had been hoodwinked by Xilan.

Xilan admired Belvan and wished for the man to die a natural death after completing all his research, so he took great care to protect him.

Even deliberately, Xilan let slip the news of Kaelonde's army suffering heavy losses on the front lines.

Once the defeat of the Dwarves spread back to the homeland, it would be a devastating blow for this country still immersed in a state of joy.

As an Observer, Xilan seemed to foresee the kingdom's fate that was to come.

"Belvan, I must remind you, your research is so revolutionary, but for that very reason, it incites fear. What will you do if one day, you are viewed as destruction, as an incarnation of the Death God?" Xilan asked in a low voice.

Belvan looked at Xilan and laughed, "That won't happen; I am the Court Tutor hired by the King, under his protection."

Xilan pressed further, asking, "What if... What would you do, abandon your research, bow your head and confess? Or continue your research and flee far away?"

Xilan hoped Belvan would choose the latter; in that case, he would do everything in his power to ensure his safety.

After hearing this, Belvan pondered for a while and then slowly shook his head, "No, I will choose neither."

Xilan was somewhat surprised and asked, "Then what will you choose?"

After a moment of contemplation, Belvan spoke word by word, "I choose truth, and I am willing to die for it at any moment."

............

............

Sea of Souls.

For a considerably long period, this had been a realm exclusive to the Fairies, and they had never welcomed outside visitors. Flanked by Schiller and Sofia, both small and large Fairies led monotonous yet carefree lives, day and night unchanging.

Yet, in recent times, visitors to the Sea of Souls had grown increasingly common, so much so that the Fairies no longer found it novel but rather took it as a matter of course, discussing the various different visitors.

"It's because more people are stepping onto the path of divine creation, and maybe one day, some might even see us Fairies clearly and communicate with us."

In the Great Library, Fairy Queen Sofia answered a Fairy's query.

The Fairy nodded; over the years, they had been harvesting goodwill in the dreams of humans. Since dreams are often hazy and illusory, it was rare for anyone to see the Fairies' faces clearly.

The fairy thought that one day, perhaps someone would see the true face of the fairies and communicate with them. It seemed incredible to her, just like an engaged couple who had never met yet corresponded for years, finally holding their wedding. It filled her with both panic and curiosity.

Having dealt with the various affairs of the fairies, Sofia gave a lazy stretch, fluttering her transparent wings, and flew to the highest point of the Sea of Souls.

There, Sofia saw her king—Angel Schiller.

"What are you looking at?"

Sofia landed expertly on the Great Angel's shoulder.

"Watching some mortals."

Schiller paused, then added,

"Those mortals who have received the divine records."

Sofia uttered an "Oh," and then asked,

"What are your thoughts?

Watch over them? Protect them? Give them assistance?"

Sofia's questions fired off like a string of cannonballs.

Schiller replied rapidly,

"I won't help anyone, unless some special characters explicitly request it, like Xilan.

To me, all mortals are the same, and to be honest, many seem quite inconsequential."

Upon hearing this, Sofia boldly inquired,

"Inconsequential? What if one day, God asked you to kill all mortals?"

Schiller sneered purposively,

"If God asked me to exterminate all mortals, then I would obliterate them completely."

"Well, that's quite righteous."

Sofia said,

"Just like God himself."

At these words, Schiller shuddered, turning his head fiercely to look at Sofia,

"No one can be like God."

"Did I provoke you?"

Sofia asked intentionally.

Schiller grabbed her down and demanded,

"Of course, you did! I don't understand, Sofia, you always seem to lack the proper reverence for God."

Sofia thought for a moment, then replied,

"It's probably because He is so distant to me. Don't you plan to take me to meet Him?"

After hearing this, Schiller became silent; no one knew what he was thinking.

After a moment, the Great Angel answered,

"I cannot."

Sofia shrugged helplessly.

Silence suddenly fell between them; they looked at each other, both speechless.

This situation lasted for a brief period.

Until Schiller suddenly said,

"I am increasingly considering going to the deepest depths of Hell."

Sofia's eyes widened. Schiller had told her about his experiences in Hell.

Therefore, Sofia understood well the despair of its deepest reaches.

"Are you serious?"

Sofia asked.

Schiller nodded solemnly.

Suddenly, Sofia grabbed his neck with uncharacteristic urgency and yelled,

"No, don't! You don't know what will happen, and neither do I!"

After hearing this, Schiller became silent and looked far off towards the Mortal World's lands.