Chapter 1674: Chapter 348: Not the Beginning of the End, but the End of the Beginning

They went to look at the Winged Ones.

Whether it was a golden giant bird, a strange insect resembling a butterfly, or a human-shaped Winged One, they were all Winged Ones. The latter even had odd branches like “head of a bird” and “body of a bird.”

This should all be caused by errors and confusion from decompressing information from the Sin Thorn.

At this moment, the Tower of Heaven was nearly completed, and the Hourglass was teaching the newborn Winged Ones what shame was and teaching them to use spells to weave clothing for themselves.

Aiwass noticed someone seemingly familiar from afar within the Winged Ones’ community. They seemed particularly reverent towards the Hourglass, their eyes seemingly glowing.

That was not Lucifer.

…It seemed to be the Winged Celestial Marshal.

But the two Feathered Snakes did not descend.

They also went to look at the scale bearers.

Although he was the King of the Scaled, Aiwass did not command the race like Lucifer or the Winged Celestial Marshal.

He merely showed his face briefly, telling these scale bearers—they now also had a King!

After all, the differences among these scale bearers were even greater than those among the Winged Ones.

Some of them resembled mermaids, others resembled fishmen. There were those that looked like lizard people or giant crocodiles… Most of them were prehistoric fish without intelligence, all living chaotically in the sea. The ones that crawled onto land were mostly dimwitted.

Unlike the Winged Ones, who could exist by basking in the Sun—the Winged Ones consumed each other.

The stronger devoured the weaker, the smarter devoured the dumber. Those who made it onto land began to prey on and devour those that hadn’t yet.

——This was exactly the birth of the “Path” of “Hunt” and “Eat,” impacting this world.

They lacked the “telepathy” ability that enabled Winged Ones to connect mentally, nor did they have a unified language. The rudimentary languages between tribes were completely independent… Aiwass showed no interest in educating a group of savages and beasts, so he left with the Serpent Father.

Serpent Father even took Aiwass to see the Heaven Devouring Titan Nibiru—a terrifying magical beast covered in fiery flames.

It looked like a giant bear but had a human face. Its body was covered with protective scales and had a thick, strong tail.

It wandered across this rocky wasteland, devouring everything it could see.

And a mysterious Hunter continuously challenged the Heaven Devouring Titan—a being of striking beauty that looked both masculine and feminine. They wielded an ice-forged shield and a giant bow capable of freezing water into ice, accompanied by a giant crocodile.

It was a war between fiery fire and flowing water.

Their battle constantly destroyed the surrounding world. Everything affected by it perished… The Hunter repeatedly failed and fled, only to grow stronger and return.

This pair of arch enemies intertwined, anchoring themselves in the vast, desolate center of the continent, far from the Tower of Heaven.

——So Ahuan descended upon this world so early!

Aiwass was also amazed by this secret.

He finally had the opportunity to ask the Serpent Father the question he had been puzzled by for so long: “Why create Nibiru to fight against that person? Is the conflict between you and Zhuanxu that vast?”

“Ness?”

The Serpent Father answered softly, “You should have heard of this name.”

“…I’ve heard many different meanings,” Aiwass replied vaguely.

Perhaps due to heavy internet addiction, his first reaction to the term was “good gun!” or “good for opening!”, rather than an esoteric or mythological archetype…

“The Egyptian God of Hunting—Zhuanxu gave her this name to grant her this divinity. Names hold power… When you understand this principle, you should become one of us.”

The Serpent Father said, looking at Aiwass.

He resolutely said, “Moreover, we have another reason for creating them… and that is I need to obtain the Holy Number Eight.

“I want to set a rule: the world must continuously develop.

“You will eventually become stronger than me. You must be stronger than me. Although the world only has eight Source Rivers, I hope it can become nine, ten—up to a hundred, a thousand, in the future.”

“Eight Source Rivers…”

Aiwass murmured, “What about the original civilization? How many Source Rivers did it have?”

“Eight.”

The Serpent Father turned his head, looking at The Sun: “Until now, Zarwan has already reopened the blocked Source Rivers. In our era, when we discovered the Source Rivers, there were only eight.

“Creation, difference, civilization, truth, order, continuity, strength, transcendence—they are the components of all elements in the world. In the past era, following difference was strength; it was strength that led to civilization; and following order was transcendence.

“Back then, the holy number of transcendence was 7, and truth was 8. Yet, after truth, we exhausted all possibilities but couldn’t create another Source River—because we had already obtained the ultimate answer.

“This answer led us to the stars and the sea… and it was this answer that buried our civilization.

“We tried to open the ‘Perfection’ Source River, but after exhausting everything… we obtained ‘mistake’. It was this mistake that ultimately led to destruction. So I want to obtain the Holy Number Eight—to open the ultimate limits of the Source Rivers again myself.

“I think the fundamental reason the Source Rivers could not be opened was because when we discovered the Source Rivers, our civilization was already completely solidified. And now, all eight Source Rivers have been cleared, and civilization is still in its germinal stage… There is no better time for change than now.”

As the God of Change of the new civilization, the Serpent Father gazed at The Sun and said slowly: “It’s not only the Source Rivers… I also want the world’s culture, technology, morality, and strength to return to the era of the past. On this point, my opinion and Zhuanxu’s are the same.

“——However, I believe that even after achieving this, it’s not the end; it is merely a beginning. It’s not even the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning.”

After speaking, the giant Feathered Snake lowered itself, affectionately nuzzling close to Aiwass: “You are my heir, Ai Shiping.

“In our civilization, a person bears many labels, like someone’s son, someone’s grandson. These are the marks left by great beings in this world.

“I hope you transcend me, Ai Shiping. I don’t want you to become the ‘Son of Xi,’ I hope I can become the ‘Father of the Snake.’

“——I hope the obliterated ninth Source River can be opened by your own hands. I don’t care whether it’s wrong or perfect… I only know that if the world remains stuck in the realm of pursuing ‘Truth’, it appears to have obtained all mysteries, but in reality, it is akin to death.

“Even if it’s a mistake… even a mistake can offer this world a direction to correct or a possibility to amend the error! It’s better than stagnation! I think perhaps beyond that unforgivable mistake lies miracle and hope——”

“…I will.”

Aiwass gazed into the Serpent Father’s radiant eyes and spoke slowly.

At that moment, the whole world suddenly decelerated, becoming dim.

[Yes, you will. Just as I would also answer this way.]

A mocking voice replied.

That indeed was the Serpent Celestial Marshal’s voice. It was also Aiwass’s own voice.

But Aiwass believed that was not the true Ai Shiping.

——That must be the “Void,” speaking through the Serpent Celestial Marshal’s body.

[But our poor little snake, he doesn’t yet realize—the hope he sees, the miracle in his heart, is precisely the beginning of all destruction.]

The Void Whisper said sarcastically.

In the next moment, time accelerated swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, the thought theatre, sealed with the memory of the contaminated, moved to the next scene.