The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1207

Chapter 1204

The Amber Egg

Heaven City’s scale could arguably be considered one of the largest in the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi. Apart from the largest, Holy Spring City, Heaven City was now the second largest. Though, even if you combined the second to fifth largest cities, they might not equal Holy Spring City in size.

To possess such immense power and yet have a devotion of the Fifth Tier meant he was undoubtedly in ascetic practice. After all, ascetic practice in this world was idealistic; as long as one believed they were practicing asceticism, then they were.

Fish sauce was like a daily staple to Eivass. To him, it was on the same level as soy sauce. It was only because Anxi was so far from the sea that this specialty of the coast became a luxury more expensive than gold.

If nothing unexpected happened, this bottle of blood sauce might even be a product of the Lloyd District. This made Eivass’s expression falter. It was a complex feeling, much like eating at Haidilao when traveling abroad and finding it far more expensive than usual.

Although Eivass’s impression of Adler, the Lord, had changed considerably after arriving at his palace, he wasn’t a hypocrite who merely put on an act, nor was he an ambitious schemer manipulating people’s hearts. He genuinely desired to do good deeds.

However, Eivass understood more clearly that he and these people were truly not alike. Even if Adler’s ascetic practice and good deeds were sincere, and his morality and kindness were a world apart from other Lords, to Eivass, he still appeared barbaric and cruel… beyond redemption. This was because he couldn’t transcend his origins, culture, and beliefs. Every polite and gentle word from Adler revealed the limit of the “Lord” group to Eivass.

For some reason, Eivass also sensed a faint death aura from him. This wasn’t to say his health was poor, or that he had fallen ill or was cursed. It was more like a person who knew they had a terminal illness—unlike ordinary people who felt like “the future time is infinite,” he clearly knew his end. Because of this, all his plans and arrangements had an uncrossable deadline. It was a kind of detached indifference, as if nothing mattered, yet mingled with a stubbornness and anxiety to “at least finish one thing.”

Therefore, Eivass didn’t bother arguing with him further and directly asked the question that concerned him most: “What about this Amber Egg you mentioned?”

Upon hearing this, Adler didn’t issue any orders or commands. He merely lowered his gaze. The slaves in the palace silently and spontaneously walked forward, bringing the Amber Egg, which was contained in a sealed vessel. As Adler had said, their minds were connected. There was no need for words or communication, thus no mistakes or reprimands. Was this also what the Shepherd’s Method achieved? Eivass pondered, then focused his gaze.

It was something contained within a black vessel. The outer container was a giant egg, crafted from “Thirst Stone,” clearly the same material as the Thirst Stone bell used by Lords to gather residents. It looked like cloudy black crystal. Just by looking at it, Eivass could faintly hear the sound of waves. It was like white noise used for sleep. But if Eivass looked away, the sound would disappear. Its transparency was somewhat like the privacy glass on a car; looking through it, one could see almost nothing clearly.

As if guessing Eivass’s thoughts, or perhaps the Lord noticed his gaze, another slave brought over a candle and lit it. This was also a specialty Eivass was quite familiar with—it was the Holy Candle used by the Bishops of the Church. The flame of this candle had a weak calming and healing effect; it could dispel many minor ailments. Through the light of this candle, one could faintly see a silhouette inside. It seemed something was floating within… but no matter how Eivass looked, it wasn’t a smooth egg. It looked more like something with strange tentacles.

“……That doesn’t seem to be an egg?” Eivass murmured. For some reason, just looking at it gave him a sense of inexplicable sadness. Yet, Eivass couldn’t recall anything. The disorienting contradiction made him uneasy, even agitated. It was like he had forgotten someone important—and she was standing right in front of him, looking at him silently with tear-filled eyes.

“Yes and no.” Adler looked at Eivass with a sad expression. “My brother… do you think this is the offspring left by the Pillar God Amber?”

“That’s right.” Eivass nodded slightly, his gaze unable to leave the “egg.” This was because he already knew that the Ring Heavenly Envoy had loved Amber and was later killed by her. The Abyss Heavenly Envoy was the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s past corpse that fell into the sea and gained sentience… with this being the Amber Egg and sealed by seawater, it couldn’t help but make Eivass think of the hidden knowledge in the Sea Burial Scrolls.

“It seems you know quite a few secrets.” Seeing Eivass’s reaction, Adler instead smiled with expectation and approval. “You even know the deep affection between our Lord and the Pillar of Amber.” He had guessed Eivass’s thoughts, knowing that Eivass must have assumed it was the child of the Ring Heavenly Envoy and Amber. This vague phrasing was precisely the misdirection he had intentionally employed.

“……I find you to be like a philosopher, Adler.” Eivass looked up at the Lord. “You are fond of wordplay.” Just like the sentence, “Amber was never an embryo in an egg,” which had two completely different meanings. One interpretation was based on the premise that Amber was a “god yet to be born”—according to current theological research, Amber was an unborn infant. She was the eye, the door, the egg, the light, the amber… She was born in the future and grew up in the past, making her an impossible paradox, an unsolvable error. Therefore, to deny the “god yet to be born” and mention “never an embryo in an egg” would create an illusion… as if he were saying Amber was not an unborn “embryo in an egg,” but an existing entity that had already been born.

And Eivass happened to know this secret. Amber was the beloved of the Ring Heavenly Envoy—or rather, the Samsara Heavenly Envoy. Before the World Destruction, Ai Shiping entrusted his authority of samsara to the person he trusted most, causing Amber to be permanently sealed and become the last mechanism to restart the world. So, of course, she wasn’t an “embryo in an egg,” but had been sealed into an “egg,” curled up and slumbering like an adult in the form of an infant!

But at the same time… Adler’s statement might have had another meaning. Eivass now realized it too—it was indeed impossible for this to be the child of Amber and the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Given Adler’s devotion to the Ring Heavenly Envoy, if this were truly the first-generation offspring of the Ring Heavenly Envoy, wouldn’t he be worshipping it like a god? How could it be stolen? How could he seal it so carelessly? Rather than being a symbol of faith… it was more like he viewed it as a difficult problem to handle. It could even be said that Adler harbored a certain hostility towards Amber… Could it be that obsessive fans only break down over the true love interest? You wouldn’t possibly be a fan of Ai Shiping’s girlfriend, would you? The thought sent a shiver down Eivass’s spine.

“How much do you know… about ‘samsara’?” Adler asked seriously and earnestly. Eivass thought for a moment and replied, “When the world changes and cycles, worldly affairs remain eternally unchanged. The righteous will remain righteous, the defiled will remain defiled. Kings will always be kings, and slaves will always be slaves. No one rises, no one falls, and all things remain unchanged. The universe has solidified, like an Amber Egg; the world cycles eternally, just like the Ouroboros Ring.” Those were the words spoken by the Ring Heavenly Envoy when he manifested.

Hearing this, Adler became instantly excited. “Good, good!” His eyes lit up immediately. He even dropped his philosopher’s facade, nodding repeatedly with near fervor, his voice more than doubling in volume. “My brother, you have indeed witnessed a miracle! We are on the same side, both bearing responsibilities!” He almost wanted to embrace Eivass, only managing to calm himself down with difficulty.

What did he mean? Eivass raised an eyebrow, realizing something. Had he seen the Ring Heavenly Envoy descend? But… how was that possible?

Mistaking Eivass for one of his own, Adler revealed his greatest secret without reservation: “I built Heaven City for this palace; I constructed this palace because of my Duty; and my Duty is to guard its seal—until it is broken at some point in the future. I will also die because of this, this is my destiny. It must be broken, it has to be broken. Because it is the child of paradox, the god that does not exist. It is not the child of the Ring Heavenly Envoy and Amber, but Amber herself. The world cycles eternally… The current Amber was born in the future. And the ‘egg’ that exists in the past, about to hatch into Amber, has therefore become a twisted monster.”

Hearing this, Eivass momentarily felt dazed. He was drawn by some mysterious power and involuntarily uttered knowledge from the Sea Burial Scrolls in an ancient language he wouldn’t normally speak, as if that knowledge were alive:

[A flying snake flew into a bird’s nest and swallowed the bird’s egg, but hatched a chick from its body.]

[The bird broke free from the snake’s abdomen and saw the snake that devoured it at first sight, falling in love with it.]

The next moment, Eivass suddenly sobered up. He looked at the egg, his eyes widening slightly. Undoubtedly, this was that egg. Because Amber became a god beyond gods of past and future, a god of Peak, a god of Perfect Eternity… therefore, the Amber Egg, which could never be born! —In this spacetime, in this cycle, it was Amber herself who was supposed to hatch! The true dead fetus of a Pillar God!