Only God

They returned to the blank room.

Above the shallow lake, tranquility pervaded.

The water plants gently rippled, seeming so tender.

Xilan remained kneeling there, like a prisoner awaiting execution, but now, no one wished to kill him anymore.

Hiris never intended to kill Xilan from the beginning, and Utus, who revered the survival of the fittest, had accepted the miracle of the father, while Laren, who had been struggling all along, eventually gave up on the chance to destroy the miracle.

At that moment, they saw visions of the future.

Hiris sat above the shallow lake, his head bowed as he watched the water that was sometimes turbid, sometimes clear, recalling all the wondrous sights he had beheld.

Hiris touched the mud beneath the lake with his hand, the water plants tenderly enveloping him.

Before they entered this room, all three of them did not know what kind of people they truly were.

Utus and Laren were obstinate about sealing the Divine Path, destroying the miracle, and for this reason, they wanted Xilan to die, while Hiris himself was hesitant and indecisive under the coercion and temptation of the Divines, choosing silence.

Then, they arrived in this room, where even if they temporarily lost their Divine Power, they had retained their divine dignity and pride. But as the world spun round and round, as they spent more time in this room where only truth existed, all dignity, glory, and pride became things of the past, like the aftermath of a war, a plague, an intense storm, disappearing without a trace after wreaking havoc, like an onion being stripped of its layers, leaving only a struggling, trembling soul.

On this shallow lake, in the presence of God, they showed their all.

Hiris was too weak, Laren valued dignity over offspring, Utus excessively promoted the law of the jungle; they finally recognized themselves, none were flawless among the three.

They even harbored enmity against each other, standing in opposition, their confrontations far outnumbering the times they complimented one another.

Yet this room managed to accommodate all three of them...

Hiris gazed at the swaying patterns of the water plants, their trajectories against the tranquil backdrop of the shallow lake resembled the curves of stars, sending him into deep contemplation. The world contained happiness, joy, all sorts of virtues, wise and noble Kings, noble servants, erudite scholars, and gentle, kind common folk. Similarly, the world was rife with treachery, filth, and heinous deeds, with cruel tyrants and fawning servants, with conceited fools and ignorant commoners... Countless opposing, contradicting elements all exist simultaneously in one world yet do not feel contradictory or crowded.

This inevitably led one to ask, why is this so?

The shallow lake was serene, as if in silence, the movements of the water plants also gradually slowed down,

"After all, it is because..."

Hiris murmured softly,

"The world is too vast; it can accommodate both the righteous and the wicked."

Through tens of thousands of years, Hiris had seen much goodness and much sin; the memorable acts of kindness were scarce, while the offending sins were abundant. Once a sin emerged, a cascade of imitators followed. People always lament that there were too few good people and too many bad, forever yearning for virtue in poetry yet committing sins in the Mortal World. It seemed as if the world would continue to decline if not for an apocalypse or an end.

Perhaps one day, there would be no good people left in the world, just thieves, murderers, arsonists, prostitutes, lovers... Anyone who saw such a world would want to destroy it rather than save it, let alone sacrifice for it, because people are always willing to save the suffering righteous, the victimized good people.

To sacrifice oneself for the sake of saving the righteous, the upright gentlemen, was glorious; countless people in history had done so and were sung with praises.

But who knew that sacrificing oneself to save the wicked, the hypocritical villains, was far more difficult—it required immense charity, patience, forbearance, and endless perseverance, as well as... overcoming death.

"God loves us; He would weep for the righteous just as He would sacrifice for the wicked."

Hiris knelt atop the shallow lake, his ears filled only with the slight rustling of the water plants. At that moment, he entered a state of meditation, his mind empty, filled with nothing but warmth. He felt as if the Father was watching him from somewhere, His radiance shining down upon him, and for an instant, his soul seemed to have been cleansed.

After an indeterminate time, Hiris stood up dazedly from the shallow lake. He turned toward Xilan, glanced around and realized that Utus and Laren were standing by his side, at some unknown moment.

Who would have thought? The three, once locked in ceaseless conflict, now seemed somewhat comically brotherly.

In this room, each had gone through struggles, yet now there was only calmness. They sincerely awaited the final moment, waiting for Xilan to open his eyes.

Under the swaying of the water plants, Xilan's body moved slightly, dust falling in bursts from his clothing. This man, belonging to God, slowly rose from the ground, his composure hardly that of someone who had skirted the doors of death.

"We no longer wish to kill you."

The three of them spoke in unison without prearrangement.

Xilan looked at them with surprised yet expected eyes. He stood up slowly on the shallow lake, nodded slightly to them, and blessed them with his voice.