Chapter 570 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

While they may differ in type, all Saints possess the power to see the future. Some glimpse a reality yet to be reached, others see an unchanging future of themselves, and some can read causality. However, the future seen by the Sky Saint is unusually distinct from the others. The Sky Saint, Mayel, enforces the future. The exact mechanism is unknown. The power of the Saints all originates from the very first Saint, so Mayel herself isn’t fully aware, and the Regressor, who heard of it from another future, only had vague knowledge. According to the Regressor's memory, the Sky Saint Mayel can 'choose' the future at every moment. A future where Nevida does not exist. A future where Nevida is wounded. A future where Nevida is continuously stripped away from the world. She wields the power to see the future through sheer force. The wind, clouds, temperature, and light—all forces of the ever-changing celestial gods, unlike the steadfast and immutable Earth Mother—converge against Nevida. Catastrophes ensue, compelling the worst possibilities in succession to claim a single life. For this reason, Mayel stands as the most overwhelmingly powerful among the Saints. Ordinarily, Saints lack combat power, necessitating a specialized armed squad for protection. But the Sky Saint is a formidable force capable of facing a nation alone. If the opponent were of an ordinary existence, Mayel’s dream alone would erase them from this world. However, this adversary was anything but ordinary. “The light is so transient. It fades quicker than a blossoming flower.” A small branch adorned with leaves brushed past the luminous figure of the Sky Saint. The branch, daring to violate the Saint, withered and burned instantly, leaving visible damage where the leaves had torn through. Plants grow by rooting into the earth and absorbing light and droplets. These devourers of light, who transform celestial gifts into their own lives, selfishly devoured the light in that brief moment, modified by Nevida. Mayel, as if expecting such a turn, calmly spoke. [Survivor. You, who understand life and death as a cycle, why do you still cling to the dead, unable to discard your regrets?] “Yet you yourself obey a fallen woman who is already dead.” Nevida sneered at Mayel, raising her hand. In her hand, as dry and firm as an ancient tree, was a small twig. “Is there more to be said? My master is the True One, while your master is a fallen woman who betrayed the True One. Shall we not contest this through strength to determine right from wrong?” [Strength cannot solve everything. It's why the King of Humans vanished from this land. For humanity to truly become noble, it must abandon the logic of power.] “No, it is because your fallen woman betrayed Him that He vanished.” With those final words, Nevida struck the twig against the ground. The small world tree, a sapling of the previous world tree and the foundation of a new one, quickly took root and sprouted. The light that filled the surroundings began to wane. A world too bright to gaze at gradually outlined itself. I raised my head. The forest, once perforated, was healing. Blinding columns of light now shattered and scattered across the burgeoning leaves. The dispersed light nourished the vegetation, accelerating growth. The land, blooming with a plethora of flora, resembled a suddenly appeared utopia. “The audacity of those who drove out the True One not by the logic of power but merely from malice is laughable. The True One shall return to this land.” [E... Even so, please don't take the extreme path.] Grass and vines lunged forward from all directions to devour the light. Vines and thorns, leaves, and branches extended to consume the luminescence that made up Mayel’s form. For some reason, the advancing branches and leaves lost their direction midway, scattering in disarray. It was as if the possibility of reaching Mayel was erased. Mayel, with eyes that seemed unfocused, looked at Nevida and spoke. [Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should. Like how I could annihilate all of you but choose not to. The world should be beautiful, gentle, and sing of love and compassion. There should be no power to destroy humanity.] “The True One does not destroy humanity. They only affirm a purer version of humans.” [That will ultimately lead to humanity's destruction. Humanity has already acquired the power to destroy themselves. And someone like you, consumed by trivial emotions, will pull the trigger of ruin.] “Indeed, if that remains to be seen, I shall inquire after recovering the True One.” Nevida smiled, touching her hand to her divine tree. The tree of origin. The power that touches the source of life transformed energy into life. Even leaves and branches that couldn't reach Mayel began closing in, not from Mayel's influence, but simply due to lack of space. The forest exploded in growth, leaving no future left for the sprouting leaves to choose from. The stately Mayel was eventually overwhelmed by the advancing vegetation. Leaves and thorny vines mercilessly ravaged and devoured her entire form. “Next time you come, let it be as your true self. It’s only courteous in reverence for the True One.” *** One was the strongest among the Saints residing in the Sacred Palace. The other was a symbol of savagery and a living demon. There was no place for ordinary people like myself in a battle between two such absolute forces. More than that, I needed to find a corner and hide. The Regressor wanted to get me out, but breaking through the ever-growing green barrier was impossible. All I could manage with my knowledge of land magic and druidism was to carve out a space to survive. “Teacher!” While wrestling with the encroaching plants in my space, Rasch, caught in an equally dire situation, approached. Shielding Callis with his body, weaving through the branches, Rasch urgently shouted. “Callis is in danger! If things continue like this, she might not make it!” He was right. I am Tyr's Avatar. The Regressor is a qi master. Rasch wields the power of the Undying. Each of us had something to rely on, allowing us to barely scrape by amidst the colossal clash of forces. But those with power are one thing. Other immortals whose power was claimed by the Offering Deity, and Callis, an ordinary human with no power but magic, were constantly facing life-threatening peril. Whether by Mayel's consideration or not, we avoided being blinded by the light... The world, with its boiling air and burning trees, was far too harsh for ordinary people. Watching Callis, who had passed out with twigs stuck all over her body, I expressed my regret. "Oh dear. This is unfortunate." "Is that all you have to say?!" "What else can I do? I'm barely surviving here myself. I can't afford to worry about others' lives right now!" Rasch, desperate, seemed ready to shout at anyone, but realizing his pleas to me were futile, he changed his approach. "Teacher, it’s not just Callis. My kin are in danger too! Isn’t there anything that can be done?" "What can we do? As long as those two are fighting, there's nothing for us. All we can do is pray to survive!" "That won't do! My kin have weakened since the Offering Deity claimed their power! If the fight doesn’t end soon, I might be the only one left alive!" Rasch shouted as he waded through the suffocating thicket. Nevida and Mayel were in a contest to fill space with their abilities, and if this went on, I might end up suffocating on branches for real. For an ordinary person to survive here... "...there might be one way to survive. Though it's merely survival." "That’s more than enough! What is it?" "The power of the Undying weakened because the Offering Deity took it. So if it’s returned, things might change." "But the Offering Deity fell to the ominous sign and became a tree...!" "Yes, it became a tree. But it wasn’t gone, right?" Rasch widened his eyes, looking at where the Offering Deity stood. The brown tree, eerily human-like, remained unchanged from when it first sprouted. Even through the warping landscape and rifting sky amid Mayel and Nevida’s battle, it remained steady, like an ancient tree standing firm for millennia. "Yes. That fruit is the essence of the Offering Deity, reduced to 'power' after countless deaths. A fruit formed from every piece scattered across the land. If you consume it... if you consume it as the Offering Deity did, you might gain its power. Then the power might return to the Undying who reclaimed their deity." "But Callis isn't one of the Undying! Even if I eat it, it won't help Callis...!" "That's true. Callis isn't among the Undying. Not yet, anyway." Rasch finally grasped the meaning behind my words. For a fleeting moment, fear flickered across his face. The Offering Deity was an entity surviving through others’ bodies. How Callis would transform after acquiring that power, and what Rasch would do if she did—none of it was certain. However, one thing was clear: if left like this, Callis would die. "Callis! Hold on just a little longer!" Rasch, holding Callis, ran. Sharp branches nicked his cheek, but he was grateful. At least those jagged twigs didn't harm Callis. He wrestled free from vines gripping his arms and legs, climbing toward the Offering Deity’s tree. Disrespectfully trampling upon the revered deity's different form, he reached out and seized the fruit with his right arm. As he plucked it, crimson juice like blood flowed abundantly. "Forgive me for feeding the fruit without asking!" Callis, unconscious, could not respond. Rasch chewed the fruit himself, then pried open Callis's mouth and pushed it inside. Thus, a new Offering Deity was born. What would happen to them in the future, I couldn’t say. But what was certain was that everyone’s wishes had come to pass. Rasch saved his kin and his intended bride, and the Undying regained their deity. Callis gained a formidable power unmatched in the militaristic state, and with it, love—how fortunate indeed. Moreover, the Offering Deity survived. Whether it was in the form it desired, I couldn't say. There was no longer any need to worry about them. I had to see to my own survival. Just then, the battle between the two was nearing its end.