The gray-white earth seemed endless, with broken meteorite craters scattered all around, and the pitch-black sky covered the heavens, where countless stars twinkled in the boundless depths.
Lin Qiye stood in an enormous meteorite crater, looking up at the sky. On the other side of the horizon, a blue planet was slowly rotating.
Most of the planet is shrouded in a gray mist. As far as the eye can see, only the Great Xia and the Arctic Circle remain, untouched by the mist.
"Is this...the moon?" Lin Qiye murmured to himself, looking at the scene before him.
He turned his gaze back to the statue-like figure before him.
Its body, several meters tall, radiates a golden glow. Behind it, six enormous wings are as white as snow, and the sunlight shines from the other side of the horizon, gilding its wings with a layer of gold.
This scene was exactly the same as what he had seen ten years ago.
Did he come to the moon?
Or perhaps... he returned to his memories and saw this scene again?
Comparatively, Lin Qiye was more inclined to believe the latter, because when he looked down, he found that he did not have a physical form at this moment.
He is only aware of this.
Suddenly, the seraph, which looked like a sculpture, slowly opened its eyes.
Eyes as hot as a furnace appeared, almost obscuring the light of the sun behind them, and boundless divine power surged forth from them, descending upon the earth.
Instinctively, Lin Qiye closed his eyes; after all, he didn't want to go blind again...
"You've come." The ancient and grand voice echoed in Lin Qiye's heart.
The Seraph did not open its mouth, but communicated with Lin Qiye directly through thought.
"Is this a memory? Or reality?" Lin Qiye asked himself.
"This is a consciousness hidden deep within your heart, but it is also reality," the Seraph slowly spoke. "Open your eyes. Ten years ago, I burned your eyes to infuse [the Mortal Realm of Gods] and divine power into your body. Now, I will not harm you again."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiye opened his eyes and stared directly at the Seraphim before him. Although the dazzling light stung his eyes, he did not lose his sight again.
"My inner consciousness?" Lin Qiye frowned in confusion.
"Only when you fully inherit my divine ruins will this consciousness appear and answer some of your doubts." The Seraphim's voice echoed in Lin Qiye's ears.
"What exactly happened?" Lin Qiye asked, frowning. "Why did it disappear after I left Cangnan?"
"Because it should never have existed in the first place," the Seraph said calmly. "Ten years ago, the entire city of Cangnan was wiped out by [Shiva's Wrath]. It is unfortunate for your younger sister, but it was unavoidable. You were the only survivor, saved by a girl."
"Eliminate?" Lin Qiye was taken aback. "You mean... Cangnan was destroyed long ago? But if that's the case, then what about the current Cangnan City...?"
"It still exists because of you... because of your [Mortal Divine Realm]." The Seraphim said slowly, "The so-called [Mortal Divine Realm] is a miracle created in the mortal world, where the dead are brought back to life, all things are restarted, and all extreme irrationality falls into the category of 'miracle'."
"This miracle began with me, and exists because of you."
"[The Mortal Realm of Gods]..." Lin Qiye murmured to himself, "So, you created all of this? But why did you do it?"
"I'm just a guardian; by rights, I shouldn't interfere in Earth's affairs." The Seraph seemed to recall something, a faint glow appearing in his eyes. "The reason I did all this was simply a transaction."
"Trade?"
"A hundred years ago, before the mists arose, a man came here and found me... He called himself the 'Lingbao Tianzun' of the Great Xia Dynasty."
The Seraph slowly said, "He made a deal with me, asking me to choose the sole survivor ninety years later, when Cangnan City is wiped out, to act as my proxy without any additional conditions, and to transfer my divine power into his body to sustain Cangnan City for another ten years."
Lin Qiye's mind was shaken.
Lingbao Tianzun?
Isn't that one of the three Celestial Venerables in the mythology of the Great Xia Dynasty?
In other words... the gods of the Great Xia Dynasty truly existed?
He predicted the destruction of Cangnan a hundred years ago, and knew that he would survive it.
"So, I wasn't trying to help you; I was simply fulfilling my promise," the Seraph said calmly. "Now, you've become my agent, possessing the complete [Mortal Divine Realm]. Cangnan City has been maintained within the Divine Realm for ten years. My mission is complete."
"Since it's a transaction, what did Lingbao Tianzun give up? What conditions did he agree to?" Lin Qiye asked.
The Seraph did not answer.
Seeing the Seraphim's reaction, Lin Qiye knew that this was something he couldn't possibly know, so he simply stopped asking.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he abruptly raised his head.
"You just said... the dead came back to life?" Lin Qiye's eyes widened. "So, the residents of Cangnan City...?"
"[Shiva's Wrath] erases concepts," the Seraph said calmly. "It erased Cangnan, and naturally it will destroy everything related to Cangnan... including the citizens of Cangnan."
"The moment the name is written, all life within the territory of Cangnan will be wiped out.
Lin Qiye felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his face instantly turned pale.
Ten years ago...
Aunt and Ah Jin...
Xiao Chen....
No, no...
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but the figure of the Seraph began to slowly fade away, and everything around him began to distort.
"Don't worry too much... The Fallen Angel won't let your little sister disappear so easily."
The consciousness that remained in his mind was about to dissipate.
"There is still a little bit of my divine power left in your body. Before it dissipates, you can still do some things you want to do..." The Seraphim's voice echoed in Lin Qiye's ears.
Lin Qiye's mind plummeted, and in a daze, he returned to his body.
Time seemed to stand still; everything that had just happened felt like a dream.
Lin Qiye stared blankly at the vanished city before him, shaking his head slightly, his face deathly pale. "No, it can't be..."
A golden light suddenly burst forth from his body, and the divine power of the Seraph surged. He easily tore through space and returned to the city.
He stood in front of a desolate empty space, lost in thought.
This place shouldn't be like this.
This should be a cluster of old, low-rise houses, a stairwell plastered with flyers, and above that stairwell should be his home…
My aunt and Ah Jin should also be at home.
He stiffly turned his neck and looked around. The entire old town had been turned into an empty space, with not a single brick, tile, blade of grass, or tree remaining.
His home is gone.