The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1340

Chapter 1338
When the Sun No Longer Rises
“The long night is coming.”
At this moment, Zhu Tang, far in the Primordial Beginning, looked out at the dark window and sighed, “The long night has finally arrived.”
Just as it happened in the ancient past during the Cicada Molting.
The sun fell, and the Pillar Gods alternated!
All the Transcendent Ones in the world suddenly awoke, a tremor akin to sorrow coursing through their hearts.
It was like the sensing of a loved one in times of crisis, a power that clutched one’s heart and stole one’s breath.
And then, people witnessed a magnificent, brilliant illusion:
On this sunless morning, an incredibly majestic giant feathered serpent resolutely flew toward the sky!
[—August 1st, it has been decided.]
[—On that day, I will complete the final transcendence: crossing the Twilight Wall.]
[—Whether I survive or not, and no matter what lies beyond that wall—I will no longer exist as a Pillar God. Whether I die, leave, am reborn, or ascend to the highest seat—I will depart from the River of Easier Conditions.]
[—This world will face “Eight Days Without Transcendence.” By August 8th, a new Pillar God will ascend.]
These were the words spoken by the Father Serpent to the Lord of Scales and Feathers during the divine descent ritual previously performed by the Cardinals.
Now, as Eivass witnessed the Father Serpent’s fall from the Ascension Ritual, the Father Serpent in the dream realm outside launched the same charge. The Father Serpent was in the dream realm; having not descended into the Material Realm all along, it was impossible for him to “break through the firmament.”
Therefore, he merely flew upwards.
This scene, reflected in the Material Realm, became the Father Serpent crashing into the sky.
However, the originally brilliant sun now seemed to have become a giant void.
The lightless darkness seeping from within, like silt, obscured the sky.
As the radiant Father Serpent collided, the light around him illuminated the silt, causing it to shine.
—
That was precisely a wall.
The boiling, liquid darkness seeping in from the outside formed a solid wall, blocking all the light the Father Serpent emanated.
That was the 【Twilight Wall】.
“What exactly lies beyond that wall—”
Grey of the Church looked up at the illusory scene in the sky with trepidation.
She knew, of course, that it was the void left behind by Xi Tian Si’s death; she also knew that it was the Void Power leaking in.
But what kind of world could give birth to such a terrifying monster?
[—I am destined to tread the Transcendent Path until the very end, never turning back. If one attempts to transcend this doomed fate, it is tantamount to betraying the Path of Transcendence on another level. This is the “Paradox of Transcendence,” an infinite wall with no positive or negative.]
The so-called destiny, the so-called doomed fate, the so-called transcendence—these were the traces left by the Father Serpent’s shadow in space-time.
The Father Serpent was undeniably doomed to die.
Because he had already died in the past—That “infinite wall with no positive or negative” was the Ouroboros, distorted space-time, a Mobius strip, and a Klein bottle.
[—Live on like this, carrying my scales and feathers. You are also a continuation of me.]
These were the words the Father Serpent spoke to Eivass.
All that had happened in the past now manifested. The instant the Father Serpent collided with the dark firmament.
His divine body suddenly shattered.
Like an incredibly hard Rupert’s tear being instantly crushed, the immensely powerful Father Serpent’s form broke apart like an illusion.
But only a very few people knew—the current Father Serpent was truly just an illusion.
When people saw the Pillar God fall and the sun cease to rise, they assumed it was an omen of the world’s end. Perhaps, from a certain perspective, they were not entirely wrong.
Now, almost the entire Material Realm was in chaos.
People’s minds were seized by spreading panic, but true Void had not yet officially entered the Material Realm.
Currently, the only place maintaining its composure was the previously most backward Wanning Kingdom.
Sultana Isabel announced to the people that their god, Eivass, would ascend to the position of the Sun.
He would replace the Third Sun, becoming the gentlest, greatest, and most eternal Fourth Sun.
He would conquer the darkness that even the Father Serpent could not overcome, and pierce the night that even Xi Tian Si could not illuminate!
And the people only needed to expect.
Only to believe.
Only to pray.
Only to hope. Their unwavering faith gradually spread from the Wanning Kingdom outwards.
Without any specific prayers or prescribed rituals, the purest “hope” was born in people’s hearts—the wish for a “miracle” that gathered into a river.
One hundred people, a thousand people, ten thousand people—even millions of people’s willpower gathered into a river, flowing into the dream realm.
The Origin River of Creation was restless, but it could not split to form a new Origin River.
Because there were only nine Origin Rivers.
Without the “Origin River of Void,” how could the eleventh “Origin River of Miracles” be born?
Without “10,” how could there be “11”?!
At this moment, in the dream realm where time flowed at ten thousand times the speed, Eivass had become friends with Lucifer.
Unaware of what was happening in the outside world, Eivass gladly joined the research at the Sky-Piercing Tower.
He saw the tiny pure white insect.
This was a scene Eivass had seen before in the illusion of contracting Inanna—the white insect, carrying a golden jewel, slowly flapped its wings and flew towards Eivass’s fingertips.
Eivass gazed at it, his pupils widening slightly.
Countless old dreams surfaced in his mind, only to shatter and vanish.
Like illusions, like dewdrops, like lightning.
“It likes you very much, snake.”
A gentle voice echoed in Eivass’s mind.
He turned around and saw his friend’s magnificent figure.
Twelve pure white wings inlaid with gold and jewels, surrounded by dazzling, warm radiance.
He stood beside Eivass, looking with interest at the tiny creature crawling on Eivass’s fingertips, “It likes your light very much, its taste is the same as mine.”
“Can I name her?” Eivass thought.
“Of course.”
Lucifer smiled gently, “Your inner light is enough to hatch it, so you are its parent.
“We Winged Ones are all born towards the light. We feed on the light in people’s hearts, just as you Scaled Ones absorb nutrients from matter. We Winged Ones absorb spiritual nourishment.
“Ideals, hope, friendship, courage—these are all precious nutrients. Like aphids feeding on tree sap. So they are generally placed in the tower, because infinite light resonates here.”
The familiar words sent ripples through Eivass’s heart.
“If—” Eivass thought, “If she is hatched with my light—then she is my child, right?”
“Yes, she will inherit your ideals. Do you Scaled Ones not have such a saying? Offspring are a continuation of their parents. The offspring of Winged Ones are also a continuation of their parents—not through material bloodlines, but through spiritual inheritance.”
The offspring of Winged Ones are also a continuation of their parents—Eivass was lost in thought again.
He thought of the Father Serpent.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if his father had left him forever.
—And ironically, Eivass had already lost more than one father forever.
Eivass closed his eyes and placed the larva on his forehead.
He tried his best to filter the sorrow in his heart, leaving more warm hope to nurture his first child.
“Your name is—Inanna, alright?” he thought.
All beings are stars. However, the larva showed no reaction to this name.
It merely bit Eivass’s finger innocently and gently, fluttering its fuzzy wings.
Seeing that it did not react, Eivass felt a little disappointed.
This meant that he alone had truly returned to the past. Inanna, who had also witnessed the Father Serpent’s fall, had not regained her memories.
At this moment, he knew her, but she did not know him.
. —However, it was fine.
This was the original Amber.
It was the young, light-eating larva that first saw “Snake” in the Sky-Piercing Tower. It was the Inanna who had not yet fed on Ai Shiping.
“Nice to meet you, Inanna,” Eivass said with a helpless smile, whispering gently.
And at this moment.
Amber, who had been slumbering in the Amber Forest, suddenly opened her eyes.
In an instant, twilight engulfed the entire world.
Time completely froze, even Pillar Gods and Void were halted. All thought and action ceased.
In the gap of frozen time, she gradually exerted force.
The amber shell she inhabited began to crack, golden, viscous liquid continuously seeping and leaking out.
“Nice to meet you—”
Amber’s hoarse, ethereal voice echoed in the desolate Amber Forest.
With no witness, no listener.
“—My Respected Teacher.”
In the next moment, the Amber Egg shattered!