The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1271

Chapter 1269
The First Pillar Gods

“Twin…” Aimel Nour whispered.

Aimel Nour gazed at the mirror-like lake and offered it a deeply respectful bow. After that, all the Lords of Benevolence bowed to it as well. Even Eivass bowed solemnly and seriously to the remains of Twin. He disdained these Lords of Benevolence, but that didn’t mean he would be disrespectful to this Ancient Pillar God. To become a Pillar God, one must have accomplishments. Twin, second only to the oldest entity on the Path of the Sun, and even predating the Candlemaster, undoubtedly possessed sacredness.

Now, it seemed, the time had come to unravel this secret.

“That was when the world was unformed, in utter chaos,” Aimel Nour said slowly. “There was no light, no fire. There was no death, nor birth. Even the sun had not yet existed; there were no stars in the sky, only countless rifts. Every rift was an eye filled with malice, every rift a mouth filled with greed. This world was utterly silent, as if destroyed by gods. There was no up or down, no water or fire, no wind or earth. The world was murky and dark, bound together only by endless Sin Thorns. These were our ancestors, and the sinners of the previous era. And in this time, the Candlemaster was born.”

This Lord of Benevolence recounted the myth of creation. If the part about “void” were omitted, the reality was not much different from what he said.

“The Candlemaster leaped out from the largest rift, and the flame on His body ignited the Sin Thorns. That burning hole was called the Sun. The Sun is the old wound of the sky. Light and fire are blades that cause the old wound to bleed anew. The shed scab became a black moon. It shattered upon the ground, turning into a lake. When light appeared, it remembered its name: ‘Mirror.’ When Mirror awoke, this world gained distinctions. Matter and non-matter separated, the awake and the dream separated, thus came the Material Realm and the Dream Realm— on one side was the world of wakefulness, and on the other reflected the dreams of the Candlemaster. Reality was darkness, and dreams were light. Thus light and dark separated. On its one side was the dream, and on the other was reality.”

Aimel Nour whispered, “This was the first day of creation.”

Eivass gazed at the shattered ice lake and suddenly understood things he had never been able to comprehend before. He now knew from his recovered memories that Twin was a Pillar God who had survived until the world was completely consumed by the void and twilight, and simultaneously, it was the first Pillar God, whose birth time was completely unknown. He finally understood now.

“…Generally speaking, every world has its own barriers to prevent the arrival of beings from other worlds. But the world at that time had already been devoured by the Twilight Seeds, leaving only a colossal void in the sky—like an apple hollowed out by worms.”

“This void was the ‘Tenth Origin River,’ and also the ‘Zero Origin River.’ The Candlemaster entered this desolate world through that void… and discovered the Sin Thorns.” Eivass’s mind recalled Grey’s words. The church’s records and the Lords of Benevolence’s accounts pieced together the truth of that time.

No wonder Twin’s status was so high… even the Candlemaster had to be subordinate to it. No wonder Twin still existed when all other Pillar Gods were eroded by the void or died. It survived from the previous era before being consumed by the void to the next era after being devoured by the void again.

—Because it was the barrier that prevented things from the Dream Realm from arriving, the scab that protected the wound from infection. At the same time, it was this world itself, devoured by the void, therefore dead! This strange worldview where the Dream Realm and the Material Realm reflected and interacted with each other was because this world was built upon this mirror— It was the moon, and also the lake; it was the lake, and also the mirror; it was the mirror, and also the gate; it was the gate, and also the wound. The scab was the lock, and the sharp blade was the key to open the lock. The blade that pierced this lock, the medicine to awaken the old gods, was the fire brought by the Candlemaster, the light brought by the burning of the Great Sun. Only after obtaining the light from the Candlemaster did Twin awaken again. After all, without light, a mirror is meaningless. And with it as the boundary, the world that had become a chaotic mess once again had distinctions. In that era, the Dream Realm and the Material Realm were not yet separated. The two worlds were intimately connected… and the way they were linked was by crossing this mirror. Or rather, by crossing all mirrors. And it was the first mirror, the last god of the previous era.

—The Sun that burned the Sin Thorns, creating all things from the old Sin Thorns.

—And the Mirror that distinguished light from darkness, reality from dreams, self from others. Creation and distinction.

Ranking after these two was the most meritorious, the first Savior Candlemaster—the Origin River of Civilization, born from that.

…What about the Hourglass, the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and the Father Serpent? Eivass’s mind suddenly thought of this. This was also a history not recorded by the church. But perhaps the Lords of Benevolence had records of it… and he directly asked Aimel Nour.

This Lord of Benevolence, whose title was “The Forgiver,” did not make things difficult for Eivass and nodded gently. He knelt devoutly and respectfully before the mirror lake and murmured:

“When the firelight once again ignited from the ground, and new life gathered together again, awakening this once-slumbering world… another outsider appeared in this world. Like the Candlemaster, it arrived from the far side of the Dream Realm, leaped into this world from the mirror, and was filled with curiosity about this newborn world. It was not very powerful, and was very friendly, so the Candlemaster did not attack it. However, it was only after the arrival of the outsider that the Candlemaster and Twin realized that this passage was too easy to traverse, and any outsider could reach this place with ease. Thus, they jointly smashed the mirror. It was like locking the door. From then on, the two worlds of light and dark, heat and cold, void and reality merged together, inseparable like milk and honey. And the outsider, the Candlemaster, and the newcomer could no longer leave this world. But the outsider was not distressed by this. It enthusiastically taught the new life, and this act caused the Origin River to spawn a branch of truth. The Candlemaster invited it to become the Pillar God of the Fourth Origin River, but it said—it was not yet time. Under its teachings, people began to ponder—what exactly were they? Where did they come from, and where were they going? Why did they exist, and why did this world exist? They pestered the outsider, but the outsider smiled and remained silent; they pestered the Candlemaster, but the Candlemaster was not good at answering. Thus, the Candlemaster found and resurrected the gods of the previous era from the Sin Thorns…”

“…The Hourglass and the Father Serpent, right.” Eivass had already roughly guessed the truth.

Aimel Nour nodded slightly. “The Hourglass represents the passage of time. After the Hourglass awakened, all order was restored; and the Father Serpent is the father of all—He is the feathered serpent, thus both the Winged Ones and Those with scales are His offspring. However, the two ancient gods gave two completely different answers. The first was the principle of order, named Balance. The Hourglass claimed that the world always returns, so the new world needed to be restored to the form of the old world to resurrect the civilization of the past; the second was the principle of ease, named Transcendence. The Father Serpent claimed that the world is always changing, so the new world only needed to live the lives of the people of the new world, as the old civilization was already dead. Amidst the dispute between the two ancient gods, the Candlemaster chose to abstain, Twin acknowledged the Hourglass, and the outsider acknowledged the Father Serpent. Later, Twin also changed its mind and chose the Father Serpent… Thus, our world was formally born from that time. Followers adhered to different truths, resulting in contradictions and disputes. After the Dream Realm and the Material Realm were mixed together, these complicated thoughts generated immense power, and the burning Sin Thorns released new divine entities… that were the Sky-Devouring Beast and the King of Hunters, born together. The Sky-Devouring Beast possessed overriding violence, growing stronger from repeated victories; the King of Hunters possessed inexhaustible vitality, growing stronger from repeated failures. The Origin River of Survival and Violence came from the ancient people’s understanding of Balance and Transcendence. That is why they were adjacent to Balance and Transcendence, yet conflicted with each other.”

“—Later, the Winged Ones were the first to abandon seeking answers from the gods. Their leader wanted to achieve the Pillar of Truth, and thus built the Sky-Piercing Tower. They wanted to gather all the civilizations of this world here, igniting the fire of wisdom amidst the power of infinite civilization. Violence had always been incompatible with truth—when the first fire of wisdom was born, the Sky-Devouring Beast suddenly arrived and struck the giant tower, destroying the initially condensed crystal of wisdom. The King of Winged Ones was furious and launched the world’s first war against the Sky-Devouring Beast. After he achieved victory, the outsider, by stealing scales and feathers from the Father Serpent, killed the King of Hunters, seized the status of the Sixth Origin River, and became the Lord of Scales and Feathers.”

Aimel Nour gazed at the mirror lake with intense focus. “This is ancient knowledge that only the King of Anxi and the Vizier could inherit. Apart from Anxi, these truths exist nowhere else. Even the elves were born only after the Sky-Piercing Tower collapsed for the second time, a new civilization.”

Having said this, he glanced at Eivass, as if he had guessed something. Or perhaps he had an ominous premonition— Why did Eivass dare to come here alone? Why did he seem not at all flustered? And… why did the Chain of Friendship on his shoulder heat up and vibrate so noticeably as Eivass approached? Was he merely a snake tail discarded by a Ring Heavenly Envoy? Or perhaps… was this a layout and conspiracy at the Heavenly Envoy level?

Aimel Nour’s gaze was profound. He said, word by word, with utmost clarity, “Therefore, I want to hand them over to you. If after today, we cease to exist… at least one person will remember everything from the beginning of creation.”

“The Forgiver—”

“How can you!”

Upon hearing Aimel Nour’s words, the other Lords of Benevolence immediately became anxious. Aimel Nour, with the Chain of Friendship draped over his shoulder, silently felt the abnormal warmth and vibration from it, then waved his hand forcefully, dispersing the worries and dissatisfaction of the others. Regardless, the arrow was already shot from the bow. — It was too late to back down now.

“The time has come,” Aimel Nour suddenly commanded. He raised his staff and touched the mirror lake. “I am Aimel Nour, and we are the guardians of the Sacred Spring, guarding here for generations. Sacred Spring, cleanse us.” As he touched it, the icy Sacred Spring suddenly emitted white smoke, as if the lake water were boiling. “All recite the hymn praising Twin until nine hours later. I will then summon the Water of the Great Abyss from the mirror lake—”