Chapter 1574: Chapter 267: She Shall No Longer Be Alone
The octagonal gemstone of grandmothers green placed before Aiwass was the Eden Stone.
This was the only treasure Aiwass had obtained during the loot distribution phase after clearing the Tower of Heaven relics.
When Aiwass touched the gemstone, a system panel popped up, indicating its name as "Eden Stone." Strangely, however, no attributes accompanied this revelation.
This peculiarity caught Aiwass’s attention, prompting him to take the gemstone away with him.
Afterwards, whenever Aiwass had free time, he would take out the gemstone to play with it.
Aiwass attempted various methods to activate it — including, but not limited to, injecting mana, praying to it, smearing his blood on it, soaking it in water, roasting it with fire, or aligning it with the sun and moon...
— Haha, none of it worked.
Had it not been for the stone persistently flashing the name "Eden Stone," bouncing off every touch like the constant pop-ups of advertisements from Thunder or Sogou Input Method... Aiwass would have dismissed it as an ordinary gemstone.
Until recently, things finally changed.
Not long ago, the entry for the container granted by Amber to Aiwass turned into the golden "Amber Mother":
[Amber Mother (Golden): Amber once hatched from an egg, emerging through the womb.]
When Aiwass obtained the entry "Amber Mother" and touched the Eden Stone again, a new entry suddenly appeared:
[Eden Stone]
[Description: An unfinished winged egg, solidified over ages. Perhaps it can be considered a kind of amber.]
It had no attributes nor instructions for use, merely this strange line of description.
—But even just a single line of description was enough.
Aiwass understood why it appeared within the Tower of Heaven—
During that ancient era lacking concepts of nations and family, the Tower of Heaven was the gathering place for the Winged Ones.
Outside the Tower of Heaven, there were many foreign tribes. In an era where the law of the jungle prevailed, straying far from their kin wasn’t safe. It meant many wouldn’t leave the Tower of Heaven... meaning many lived their entire lives inside it.
—Clearly, this gemstone was a "stillborn" from a failed incubation.
As to why it failed to hatch, Aiwass thought... that perhaps it was related to the fall of Taiyi.
Aiwass recalled that when he entered the relics of the Tower of Heaven, the blazing Second Sun "Taiyi" was still high above. Therefore, Taiyi still existed at least during the Fallen Celestial Marshal’s ascension. At that time, the master of the Creation Path was the Sun Path, and the Winged Ones relied on such gemstones for reproduction.
With the Fallen Celestial Marshal’s ascent, the Tower of Heaven relics were extracted from time and space by Lucifer using the Preservation Arts.
What followed was Taiyi’s fall, the Sea Monster acquiring fragments of the Sun Path and clambering ashore to become the Beast Master. Then the proliferation of the Beast’s Path completely replaced the Sun Path’s creation, and the emergence of the Milkers... This "gemstone"-like embryo lost its potential for creation due to not fitting beast nature.
This was probably why the Winged Ones became extinct — perhaps the Winged Ones had no gender and, thus, couldn’t reproduce as represented by the sexual reproduction of the Beast’s Path. This was likely why Ai Shiping, then the Reincarnation Celestial Marshal, could hatch Amber after stealing the Amber Egg.
The golden Hunting Path turned into the green Path of Adaptation after the Food Path turned into the Path of Strength, which was between the first and second Tower Masters of the Tower of Heaven. Therefore, back then, the green path color was just the Path of Beauty and the Path of Adaptation.
This gemstone should be the remnant from the end of the Sun Path... barely preserved under the interference of the Path of Beauty or the Path of Adaptation. Yet it has completely lost the potential to hatch new Winged Ones.
The later Avianfolk, Serpentfolk, and Lizardfolk all clearly deteriorated compared to the Winged Ones and scale bearers. They became wilder and more animal-like compared to ancient divine beings.
Or rather... more like "beasts."
This "deterioration" was probably the influence of the beast nature of the Beast’s Path!
To continue existing, they lost divinity and turned into beasts.
Thus, Aiwass clearly realized... these "Eden Stones" in the "mirror image dungeon" of the Tower of Heaven relics were likely the last batch of true "Winged Ones" in the world. Aiwass managed to salvage just this one; thus, it became the last Winged One in the world.
Nothing could be more fitting to become the vessel for Amber.
Aiwass even prepared two Tarot Cards for the soon-to-hatch Amber.
In this Tarot deck Aiwass bought last year, only four cards remain now.
—The Magician, The Empress, The Hermit, The Tower.
The Book of Law’s registry count had also reached [17/21], just four more to completely finish the Book of Law.
Aiwass had already vaguely sensed a kind of premonition — when he completes the Book of Law, something might happen.
He had already decided where to use the card The Magician.
The Magician card included the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire. Above its head was an infinity loop, at its waist hung the Ouroboros, underfoot were roses and lilies... where the roses symbolized life, and the lilies symbolized death.
—In this world, no card was more suitable to give to Ahuan than it.
As for which two cards to use from the remaining three, Aiwass had pondered over this for a long time:
The card [The Empress] signified compassion. It was the archetype for all mature women, representing maternal care and the nourishment of earth. The fields and forests there symbolized tranquility, fertility, completeness, sympathy, and unconditional love.
Meanwhile, [The Hermit] wore a robe, carried a lamp, and ventured alone in the darkness... it represented solitude, isolation. Leaving the collective, seeking inner peace, discovering the true self. It meant not compromising or conforming to others, seeking truth in silence.
This card was most suitable for the Great Sage — but it also fit the Serpent Celestial Marshal, the Eternal Self, and Amber, who were great sages walking alone and sealed within themselves.
As for [The Tower] — it was the card most fit for Amber and most suitable for Winged Ones.
The Tower implied disintegration. The crumbling of old things, the collapse and destruction of the old world, but it also signaled transformation and total change. Destroying all that once was, abrupt and unacceptable, yet just happened, thus only striving to grow within the new rules.
—The collapsed Tower was the Tower of Heaven.
The collapse of the Tower of Heaven foretold the end of the old era and the beginning of a new era. The earliest Elves were born at this time, carrying the flame of a new era and cycling civilization forward. It also portended the world’s end... aligning with concepts very fitting for Amber.
Finally, after meticulous and prolonged deliberation, Aiwass put away [The Hermit].
The reason was simple.
"The Hermit" was too cruel a fate for her—
The reason Amber could become [The Hermit] was that she had fallen into the eternal reincarnation triggered by the power of reincarnation, becoming a hub of the cycle.
However, the soon-to-be-born Amber completely transcended this cycle and was to witness the end as a "brand new Amber"—
In this way, she would no longer be alone.