Chapter 247: No Matter How Vast the Star Sea, It Has an End, But Ambition Is Endless (7k)
Starlight transformed into a small boat, carrying Solun down the river of time.
Then, he returned to reality.
After witnessing the black-haired girl’s smooth return, Shaya turned his gaze back to his side.
This was where myriad timelines converged.
It was also, a place only those who had reached a certain threshold were qualified to reach –
The abode of the “Origin.”
Or, the birthplace of all things.
And only here could Shaya clearly discern the truth hidden within him, behind the infinite fog.
“Speak, what is this about?”
Shaya’s words echoed in the Origin, amidst the flowing time.
It was as if he was muttering to empty space.
But, in the next moment.
“You are not a clone, nor a chess piece, nor a created carrier or container.”
“You are me, indivisible.”
“And what I am telling you now, you can understand as a soul imprint left in your ‘Origin’ before you lost your memory, just like an activity your kindergarten teacher had you do…”
“Writing a letter to your future self, then burying it in a time capsule, to open it years later.”
A voice, both strange and familiar, sounded in Shaya’s ear.
Shaya knew the difference was hearing his own voice versus others hearing it.
He nodded, “So, my previous life was indeed you, the Sun God of that Glorious Era, the Creator?”
“To be precise, it’s not exactly a previous life or reincarnation… In the terms used before transmigration, reincarnation implies the same soul with a changed body.”
“And your physical body is actually your original body, but it was forcibly rewound to the state of a newborn, before any tempering or growth.”
“Or, to put it more simply, ‘initialized’?”
“Of course, even with the same starting point, different subsequent experiences and paths naturally lead to vastly different outcomes.”
Shaya nodded.
“Understood. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?”
“If not, I’ll be going. Solun is waiting for me in the Fourth Era.”
…
“Upon discovering that you were once the radiant master of the Throne of Heaven, the Creator and Sun God of the Glorious Era, you don’t even have any thoughts to share?”
The strange yet familiar voice finally carried a hint of helplessness.
“Indeed, the fact that you could reach this Origin without the aid of divinity means you have already surpassed your past self.”
“Naturally, there’s no need for tricks like ‘I pray to the entire Hall of Heroes, and only my past self answers’.”
“Then, let me tell you something, as I said before transmigration, let’s look at your past dark history.”
The slightly helpless voice paused.
“There was a transmigrator from Earth who arrived in a barbaric era.”
“This world was filled with races only found in myths: dragons, elves, griffins, phoenixes, dire wolves…”
“And to survive in this era teeming with mythical creatures, he toiled, cut through thorns, endured countless hardships, and hunted countless powerful mythical creatures, taking the fragments of order and law scattered during the world’s creation from within them.”
“He eventually stood at the apex of that mythical era, on the so-called Throne of Heaven, known to all beings as the Sun God, or the Creator.”
“Following his experience and memories from before transmigration, he established a relatively peaceful and prosperous Glorious Era.”
“However, at that time, the Sun God did not foresee that the authority and divinity he contained carried a risk of leading his soul towards loss of control and madness…”
“The Great Calamity. Since you have reached the Origin, you must already know what happened.”
“In short, that Sun God could no longer suppress the tendency of the divinity and authority he had absorbed to go out of control… He was forced to disintegrate. The core of the Sun God’s authority, the blazing sun, became a source of corruption and pollution, making the sun a root of downfall and defilement for a very long time.”
Shaya nodded, “After all, that guy who called himself the Sun God shared the same origin as me. He shouldn’t be so foolish as to do nothing until his disintegration, right?”
“Of course.”
The voice spoke.
“The first method he devised was to sever his surplus divinity and authority.”
“He stripped away the divinity that was not crucial, yet was particularly violent, most prone to losing control, and purely served a negative function, retaining only the core parts.”
“As time passed, the Sun God’s strength was also growing. Even retaining just the core portion of his power was enough to maintain his position as Creator.”
“However, this method did not succeed—”
“Divinity, seemingly a shortcut to increasing strength, actually entangles the fragments of authority with your soul once you are tainted by it, making it difficult to peel away.”
“If it were just a single divinity and authority, it would be manageable, just requiring more time… but the Sun God had absorbed far too much divinity at that time.”
“As a result, an accident occurred during the stripping process. Not only divinity and authority, but also a small part of his soul and spirit body were peeled off—”
“That small portion of the spirit body, combined with the most frantic and disordered divinity and authority, became something akin to a heart demon or a dark side.”
“Or, in pre-transmigration terms… ‘Sun God.alt’?”
Shaya covered his face in silence.
He had been enjoying the gossip as an uninvolved party until he heard the last word, finally feeling the impact of his past dark history.
“That thing was quite troublesome, due to the incomplete spirit body, soul, and memories—”
“So that thing constantly craved pure souls to replenish itself…”
“I’ve seen that thing.”
Shaya interrupted the narration, as it made him involuntarily recall the perverted old remnant who had said “I’m fond of you” and eyed him greedily.
“As expected.”
The voice revealed a tone of confirmation.
“I knew that if that guy was still around, you wouldn’t be able to avoid entanglement.”
“And since you can stand here now, it means you have already killed that guy.”
The voice paused slightly and continued its narration.
“Although that attempt failed, there were still some gains.”
“Divinity and authority represent the very laws of the world. This is indeed an extremely powerful force.”
“There is nothing wrong with such power itself.”
“However, without a sufficiently powerful soul capable of controlling divinity and authority freely, one will inevitably be influenced by the divinity, ultimately embarking on the old path of losing control and madness.”
“The Sun God, in the beginning, was desperate to survive in that mythical era, so he hastily absorbed too much divinity, leading him down an irreversible path of disorder and madness.”
“But, conversely.”
“If one could reach a level comparable to demigods, true gods, or even touch the Throne of Heaven, relying on the power of their physical body and spirit, without the help of divinity.”
“Then, after possessing a sufficiently tough soul and body, would it not mean that one could reach a higher peak, one that even the former Creator never reached?”
“It is a peak that no creature has ever reached since the birth of the Multiverse.”
“It is the supreme divine throne that exists only in imagination.”
“Transcending planes, transcending civilizations, transcending all deities—”
“Destiny equal to the universe.”
“True immortality.”
The words, with a hint of seduction, slowly sounded in Shaya’s ear.
“This was the Sun God’s final attempt.”
“Since the soul and spirit were already tainted by divinity, trapped in a vortex of disorder and unable to break free.”
“Then, might as well take advantage of the Great Calamity’s outbreak and complete disintegration to strip away all impurities along with all memories and power.”
“Leaving only the original physical body rewound to the infant stage, and the memories from the moment of transmigration—”
“Then, in the new era after the Age of Gods faded and the remaining deities hid in the Astral Realm, complete a new restart and retrace the original path.”
The voice paused.
“Of course, as a contingency, the Sun God also left some gifts for his restarted self.”
“These gifts would exist in a way that his amnesiac self could understand…”
“For example, a system, a game panel, a main god’s space, an old man in a spatial ring… things like that, you should understand what I mean.”
“Also, even having lost all memories, even having restored the physical body to the original infant state, it is still the same person. Having experienced several epochs, that affinity with the river of time still exists.”
“All of this is for the day when…”
“In these repeated restarts, a special individual would be born who could reach beyond legends without relying on divinity, surpassing demigods and true gods.”
“Until he journeys upstream against history, leaving his mark at various historical nodes, until he reaches the Origin and reclaims all the divinity and authority he once possessed.”
“Then, he will reach the mythical Throne of Heaven, untouched by any living being.”
“That is the true ‘Throne of Heaven’; even the Sun God never truly reached such a status.”
“Several such restarts have already occurred. For example, the Golden King Rhine, who opened the Holy Calendar, was one of the restarts.”
“It’s just a pity…”
“Even though they left behind illustrious renown in history, they never truly reached the Origin and qualified to ascend to the Throne of Heaven.”
“And now—”
Even though it was just a soul imprint etched into his Origin, Shaya seemed to feel a burning gaze cast upon him.
“The unbearable vacancy of the Throne of Heaven, which has lasted for an unknown period, is finally coming to an end.”
“You have become the exception waited for in these repeated restarts.”
“Accept this Star Cup, and you can recover all your lost memories.”
“Then, complete the wish that has spanned tens of thousands of years, surpassing the boundaries that all beings in history have failed to surpass.”
“Become the master of the Throne of Heaven, a true magnate.”
Listening to the familiar words tinged with indescribable temptation.
Shaya’s eyes remained calm.
“I have two questions.”
“Who created the ‘Golden Dawn’?”
“It wasn’t the Sun God of the First Era; perhaps it was a contingency left by later restarts.”
“What they wanted to do was nothing much, just to awaken the forgotten memories sleeping in your Origin.”
“Of course, due to the recent events, their ritual failed.”
“However, in reality, it makes no difference.”
The voice paused.
“With your own strength, you have also reached the Origin.”
“No ritual is needed. As long as you absorb this Star Cup, the memories sealed in your Origin will be reawakened.”
“And along with the memories, the power inherited from your past restarts will also resurface.”
“This power will become your sustenance, becoming the force to help you ascend to the Throne of Heaven.”
“Do not worry that this is some contingency or a scheme against you. You should know that this is your ‘Origin’, the root place that only you can reach.”
“I am you, and you are me, indivisible—”
“This is merely a… pure gift for your future self.”
The familiar and yet strange words settled.
Shaya was silent for a moment.
“Is there… no difference?”
He smiled.
“On one hand, you caused my girl to nearly die because of your affairs, and on the other hand, you say this is for my own good, a pure gift.”
“Creator of the mythical era?”
“Truly befitting the title of Creator, so high and mighty…”
“In that case, I suppose I don’t need to ask the second question.”
Without the slightest hesitation or pause.
He turned around.
In the flowing time, with every step Shaya took, his figure became more ethereal.
Shaya’s altitude was falling.
From this “Origin,” which dictated the fundamental nature of existence and defined the inherent direction of all beings, he began to descend into the real Material Plane.
Soon, that place flowing with ripples of time became extremely illusory.
Correspondingly, the real Material Plane became clearer.
With Shaya’s unhesitating steps, only that familiar yet strange voice faded into the distance behind him.
“It seems—”
“You have made your choice.”
…
First Era, Astral Realm.
In the “Origin,” there is no concept of time.
Precisely because of this, no matter how long Shaya perceived time to have passed, to everyone in the Prime Material Plane, it had only been an insignificant instant.
To outsiders, Shaya merely smiled, then gently took the dazzling Star Cup that attracted everyone’s attention into his hand.
At the convergence of myriad gazes, the atmosphere in the void was almost frozen.
All Human Legendary figures, wizards, downgraded mythical creatures… even the True Gods who had been quietly dormant in the Astral Realm, now cast their eyes here.
The masters of every gaze waited in silence.
Perhaps some simply wanted to witness the birth of a new Throne of Heaven, the creation of a new era, such a historic moment.
However, there were also powerful beings who were waiting for the moment Shaya absorbed the Star Cup and further elevated his status.
Shaya was powerful, having ended the mythical era single-handedly.
But even he, after unleashing the “Divine Dodge” that ended the age of gods, must have suffered some losses.
And once he began to absorb the power of the Star Cup, at the moment of status promotion, with the surge of spirit and power, a fleeting flaw would inevitably appear.
Of course, even so, becoming an enemy of Shaya would still be a path with a nine-death chance. His power led many ancient beings who had experienced that mythical era to recall the Creator who reigned supreme in the Glorious Era.
A majesty that suffocated the gods.
However—
To walk the path of godhood to its end, to reach the other side of the Throne of Heaven, was the wish of all gods.
Discarding their races, their families, their mortal emotions… at the end of that long period, all the shining things they once cherished like radiance had faded.
Only the desire for greater power, for the supreme height, remained.
Nothing else.
Therefore, no god would give up such an opportunity, a chance to fulfill their sole wish.
On the other side of the Astral Realm.
The Golden Elf, clad in a black robe, reopened her closed left eye.
In the pitch-black deep space, magnificent azure flames began to slowly flicker again in her crimson-gold beautiful eyes.
This was “Void Magic,” considered the greatest taboo even in the Age of Gods.
Just now, with the full assistance of the Magic Goddess’s Secret Fire, using the power of “Void Magic”—
The “Divine Dodge,” which had originally only been able to rewrite the rules of a specific small area, was overwritten by Shaya across the entire Prime Material Plane.
Bringing about the end of the entire mythical era, making her one of the creators of this twilight of the gods.
However, such immense power could not come without a cost.
Each activation of the “Magic Goddess’s Secret Fire” consumed the power of Heiser’s soul origin.
The previous activation had already left her soul somewhat damaged.
But as an elf who had personally experienced the Age of Gods and knew the virtues of those so-called deities, Heiser knew very well.
Those survivors lurking in the Astral Realm, who had not perished in the recent “Divine Dodge,” would certainly not give up so easily.
Therefore, once those lurking surviving gods in the Astral Realm erupted and tried to plot against Shaya.
Then, they would face the wrath of the Magic Goddess.
Even if it meant further exacerbating Heiser’s already damaged and depleted soul.
…
At the point of convergence of myriad gazes, where the atmosphere was so condensed it was close to freezing and suffocating.
Shaya slowly raised the dazzling Star Cup.
“Awaken the memories of another person from those repeated restarts.”
“Receive the gift from fate?”
“That’s quite an enticing proposition.”
“But—”
Shaya paused slightly.
He knew that the soul imprint had not lied to him.
This was indeed the “Origin” of this body, of this soul.
And upon absorbing the Star Cup, he would indeed reclaim his past power and receive that gift.
He would contain the laws of this world and turn them into his own power.
Then, he would surpass that Sun God and ascend to the supreme Throne of Heaven.
However, would he, after reviving his memories, still be Shaya Egut?
Shaya’s life was not long, only a brief few decades.
Compared to those who left their brilliance in history across eras in repeated restarts, their lives spanning centuries or millennia, Shaya’s decades were but a drop in the ocean.
At that time, he would be the Creator, the Sun God of the Glorious Era.
He would be Rhine, the “Golden King” who ended the chaos at the end of the Third Era, established the Dawn Holy See and the Holy Calendar.
But, he might not necessarily still be Shaya Egut.
Of course, this was not insurmountable.
Shaya had his own confidence… Even with a vast sea of memories spanning thousands, tens of thousands of years, like a tidal wave, flooding his mind, he was confident he could maintain his self.
Then, he would find a way to sever the parts of his memory that were not his own, to isolate them as if watching a film, without letting them interfere with the independence of his personality.
Just as that remnant soul in the abyss had not succeeded in devouring Shaya’s self during the five hundred years he slept there, but was instead killed by him.
Of course, if Solun had not made efforts to truly complete the Golden Dawn’s summoning ritual, awakening the memories from those repeated restarts in his spirit…
Then Shaya would likely have to fall into a deep sleep again, like he did when he fell into the abyss, spending a long time maintaining his spirit world and solidifying his self.
Exchanging hundreds or thousands of years of sleep for the power to permanently ascend to the Throne of Heaven seemed like a decent deal.
However—
Shaya slowly looked around.
His gaze was distant, seemingly looking at the dazzling Star Cup in his hand, yet also seeming to fall upon a more distant place, into the star abyss of the stars… where the hidden deities resided.
These deities, they were once beings with flesh and blood, once the chosen ones of their respective races, radiant beings.
They might have once made promises of protection to their kin and friends.
Upon choosing to embark on the path of godhood, they might have harbored grand ideals, possessed sincere hearts.
Their initial motivation for gaining power might have been simply to protect their people, to make their tribes prosperous and not threatened by foreign invaders.
But.
In their long lives, they gradually forgot their original intentions, forgot the emotions of beings with flesh and blood.
They forgot their radiant ideals and sincere vows of the past.
Only the obsession with further advancement, with achieving eternity, with ascending to the Throne of Heaven remained—which became the sole driving force of their actions.
Nothing else.
How pathological and twisted was this unscrupulous posture?
What was the difference between that and being like a walking corpse with only an empty shell left?
If one even forgets one’s own original intentions, then even if one becomes a great figure in the so-called Multiverse, truly immortal—
What meaning would that hold?
Shaya turned around and looked at the Golden Elf with flickering silver flames in her eyes nearby.
“My most respected teacher, and also my favorite Shī Jiang, once told me during my arcane initiation.”
“‘Ambition is the driving force that propels wizards forward.'”
“‘I strongly agree with this point.'”
“‘From the moment the first humble mortal looked up from the wilderness at the star-studded night sky.'”
“‘Because of that ambition for the unknown territories, that thirst for the truth of the world…'”
“‘That’s why there are wizards who regard ‘exploring the truths deep within the stars’ as their creed.'”
“‘That’s why people can cut through thorns and toil laboriously to move forward.'”
“‘From snowfields to deserts, from the most treacherous mountains to the endless abysses of the sea, even to the star abyss of the universe, human footprints are everywhere.'”
“‘I am also a mortal, and I have my own desires and ambitions—'”
“‘If not, I would not have been chosen by Shī Jiang, nor would I have encountered so many different people and unforgettable things later on.'”
“‘Meeting that Golden Elf in the Black Tower plaza, and becoming her only disciple.'”
“‘This is perhaps one of the luckiest things in my life.'”
“‘However—'”
The starlight flickering in Shaya’s eyes gradually dimmed as he approached Heiser.
Then, to her somewhat surprised gaze, he took her hand.
The Golden Elf’s hand was cold, soft, and fair.
Shaya chuckled lightly.
Then, looking into the Golden Elf’s eyes, he spoke word by word.
“‘No matter how vast the star sea, it has an end.'”
“‘But ambition is endless.'”
“‘I will conquer the boundless star sea in my own way, and explore the most mysterious truths and secrets in the depths of the universe.'”
“‘But at the same time, what I care about more—'”
“‘Is the mood of enjoying the scenery during the journey.'”
“‘And the person who accompanies me to enjoy the scenery…'”
Shaya’s slender fingers moved slightly.
The next moment.
*Crack.*
At the convergence of myriad gazes.
The Star Cup, which carried the lifelong aspirations of countless deities, was yearned for by all beings, and represented the opportunity for instantaneous ascension.
Showed a clearly visible crack.
Then, a thousandth of a breath later.
The crack rapidly expanded.
The omnipotent wish-granting machine, the key to the Throne of Heaven—
The “Star Cup” shattered.
It turned into thousands of crystalline fragments.
Like a rain of cherry blossoms falling in spring, they scattered into the pitch-black Astral Realm.
…………………………
PS: One more chapter
