CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 188: THE ISLAND IN THE JAR

Ethan thought of Old Ba.

In fact, when it came to Mary, he felt a sense of guilt towards his old friend, after all, in one way or another, he had taken the chosen one favored by Old Ba, which had weighed on him from the Third Era all the way to today.

Ethan felt he ought to do something for Old Ba, and now a rare opportunity presented itself before him.

He could mend Old Ba’s relationship with his friends, Ethan believed this would provide some solace to the lonely old artist who was somewhere, unknown.

"...Bazatous sent you here?"

The doubt in the voice had lessened significantly, and it seemed to carry a hint of joy.

When He once again carefully observed Ethan, He indeed sensed a trace of familiar energy from him. Yet, He had stayed in this place for an unknown length of time, long forgotten many things, and almost never actively recalled His former friends.

He vaguely remembered, during their last meetings, their relationship had become very tenuous.

Thinking of these matters, the anger and hatred from betrayal surged once more, "So, you are His chosen one?"

Only those selected by the "Gods" could communicate directly with Them, as for the concept of "Gods", it was originally created by humans.

This human seemed to know much about His friends.

The only puzzling thing for Him was that the chosen ones should be the most devout followers—at least before they betray. Why would Bazatous’s chosen one call Him "Old Ba" rather than "Father"? This seemed quite irreverent.

"My name is Ethan."

Ethan did not directly answer the question, feeling that the relationship between him and Old Ba might be somewhat delicate, not easily explained with just a few words.

"...Anapolis."

"Alright, Old An, let’s begin then."

"Who are you calling Old An!"

Anapolis suddenly realized, the issue must lie with this human, Old Ba might not readily accept such a name.

Huh?

Why did He also naturally accept the name Old Ba?

Everything seemed incredibly natural, as if friends should always call each other this way. He recalled Bazatous’s untidy appearance, so-called scarlet art within Their circle was infamous, not all gods liked making their living environment filled with gore.

For example, Anapolis, He disliked ugly and distorted things, always kept His distance from Bazatous.

But if it were Old Ba... fundamentally speaking, outwardly He just looked like a big mass of flesh, though the art style was still unacceptable to Him. Yet, unexpectedly, Old Ba was the only one over several eras still reminiscing about Him and even sent someone here to see Him.

Compared to those calculating fair-weather friends, Old Ba was honest and thick-skinned.

Besides, is it a crime for having an uncommon aesthetic taste? Perhaps it’s all innate, Old Ba simply followed His true self.

Seeing this opportunity, Ethan said, "For certain reasons, Old Ba cannot come here to see you in person, He deeply regrets this and entrusted me to convey His apologies on His behalf."

"Is He alright?"

"He is just like you, trapped somewhere unable to move freely."

Anapolis fell into silence, Ethan sensed in the silence His self-reproach, which also meant that the "Gods" seemed to have "emotions" much like humans, making him increasingly certain that They might be some ancient beings rather than purely conceptual creations of humans.

Initially, humans only named Them as gods after witnessing Their power, human approach towards everything in the world was like this.

Ethan’s grasp over Gray Elements became increasingly adroit, replacing the stethoscope to allow him to hear the plea’s voice to some extent.

He decided to push aside grand narratives like Evil God or Day of Destruction, right now in front of him was merely a seeker suffering severe psychological trauma.

Ethan proactively introduced himself, "Changing the mode of address is the first step to altering social relations, you can call me Old Sen, which is a way old friends refer to each other back in my hometown."

Friends?

The gaze from high above scrutinized Ethan.

A human who trespassed into forbidden ground, daring to declare friendship with Him.

But after brief contempt and disdain, Anapolis gradually noticed that this was a word imbued with magical power, like a beam of light tearing through the restrictions set by humans, shining upon this place for the first time in several eras.

It was Old Ba that made Anapolis drop the final barrier.

Old Ba is a sincere and honest lump of flesh, this human was meticulously chosen by Him, enough to signify His trust in Old Sen.

"Since you wish to know...but if you dare to mock or scorn me, I will promptly crush your soul!"

Along with the fierce warning, Ethan perceived a certain energy arriving at the seat opposite him, yet he still could not discern Anapolis’s form. It seemed that these ancient beings rarely revealed their true appearances.

This time, Anapolis abandoned language.

Language was another human invention. He had to admit it was quite a convenient tool, yet language couldn’t express the fury burning within Him.

Energy resonated with Gray Elements, Ethan’s vision shifted.

It was an ancient city-state, his attention was easily captured by a shipbuilder who was bare-chested, a strange déjà vu occurred once more, despite being dressed differently, and having a different hairstyle and aura, his first thought was of Yue.