Capítulo 1575: Chapter 268: Day of the Cicada Slough
As Aiwass slightly relaxed the restraint on his strength, amber radiance burst from his body.
As Aiwass slightly tilted his head back, his entire skin gradually became transparent—the powerful Amber Power completely immersed Aiwass, wiping away all colors and textures from his body, turning Aiwass into an amber-colored humanoid dotted with starlight-like radiance, like a blown sugar figure.
And upon sensing Aiwass’s strength, the long-dormant “Eden Stone” suddenly began to tremble and buzz.
It vibrated slightly on the table, like a vibrating phone. With each wave of vibration, it gradually moved closer to Aiwass.
Aiwass’s consciousness gradually became blur… and just before it entirely evaporated, he subconsciously stretched out his finger and touched the Eden Stone.
At that instant—
Golden ripples echoed in the air, and as Aiwass’s finger drew nearer to the Eden Stone, those ripples became denser and brighter.
And the moment Aiwass truly touched the Eden Stone, a vivid memory suddenly flashed in his mind:
In front of him was something… or rather, someone, about the same size as this Eden Stone—a white insect.
It looked somewhat like a beetle, with a hexagonal bulge on its back. However, instead of the thin transparent wings like a beetle, it had fluffy wings, making it look more like a pet rather than a monster…
He extended his hand, and it flew toward him, stopping on “Aiwass’s” fingertip. The six wings behind it slowly folded, reflecting pure and sacred radiance under the white light.
Approaching this distance, “Aiwass” finally could see it clearly.
Its head looked somewhat like a cicada’s. The protruding eyes, like those of a shrimp, were two dim yellow gemstones. It’s about the size of a walnut… if the head and wings were removed, it would be the Eden Stone.
The only difference was that the “gemstone” on its back wasn’t solid emerald like a gemstone. But a flowing golden tone.
It looked like some kind of stream, shining with a dark golden liquid almost as thick as paste. It resembled nail polish, yet also like jelly water. Inside were densely packed fragments shining like stars, appearing as some sort of spacecraft.
—Which part is the main body, exactly?
A question arose in “Aiwass’s” heart.
Was it the insect-like head, or the pure white feathers… or the liquid inside the small backpack on its back?
“—It’s the liquid inside.”
A gentle, somewhat familiar voice echoed in “Aiwass’s” heart.
He turned his head and saw a somewhat familiar… yet long unseen person.
—It was Lucifer.
The twelve pure white wings, not yet cut and still inlaid with gold and jewels, possessed a brilliance surpassing both the Fallen Celestial Marshal and Lucifer.
The mere descent of Him caused the surrounding light to sway and surge.
He stood beside Aiwass, watching the tiny creature crawling around on “Aiwass’s” fingertip with interest.
“It really likes you, Snake.”
“This child… how should I raise it?”
The Snake pondered in his heart, “What does it usually eat?”
Looking at this child, he felt an incomparably pure joy from within.
“The Winged Ones are born towards the Light.”
Lucifer’s gentle voice echoed in the Snake’s heart, “They ingest the light in people’s hearts, just as you scale bearers absorb material nourishment… we Winged Ones draw spiritual nourishment.
“Ideals, hope, friendship, courage… these are all precious nutrients. Like aphids sucking sap from trees. So they’re usually placed in the Tower. Endless light resonates here.”
Saying that, Lucifer gently touched the white-feathered larva.
As he raised his hand, a golden radiance slowly unfolded like a curtain, causing the entire world to slightly tremble.
It first drew close to Lucifer, but just before being touched by the fingertips, it suddenly jolted, twitched violently, and flew up with flapping wings. Circling around the two for several laps before stopping on the Snake’s right shoulder.
It was away from Lucifer.
“… At the same time, overly brilliant light can also scorch us.”
Lucifer, somewhat resigned, remarked, “It really likes you. Surely it’s because you also have light in your heart… pure, flawless. Brimming with hope.”
“—Is that why you became friends with me?”
Hearing this, the Snake turned back to look at Lucifer.
“Yes.”
Lucifer didn’t avoid it at all, “Not exactly flawless, but pure enough; not exactly scorching hot, but not cold. Compared to the Sun, not as glaring, yet it has a unique rhythm. I like your light very much.”
Saying so, He glanced at the larva perched on the Snake’s shoulder, “Looks like it likes you a lot too.”
“What is this child’s gender?”
The Snake asked curiously, playing with the larva on his shoulder, “Can I come here often to accompany it in the future?”
“The original Winged Ones have no gender, for we are all born from Light. Every ideal becomes a new eggshell, drawing light from others’ souls, growing wings, and flying towards The Sun.”
Lucifer’s voice, warm and luminous, resounded in the Snake’s heart, “Those Winged Ones who have gender, in reality, are polluted by light with impurities. They have chaotic frequencies in their hearts, causing these ideals to be tainted with distorted light. But even so, it’s still light…
—How about you take it with you, Snake.”
After a moment of silence, Lucifer made a suggestion that surprised the Snake, “I trust your light. It might be better accompanying you than with us.”
“… What will happen if it follows me?”
“It will inherit your ideals. You scale bearers have this belief, don’t you? Offspring are the continuation of the progenitors. The offspring of the Winged Ones are also the continuation of the progenitors—not a material bloodline, but a spiritual legacy.”
“… Do you have offspring of your own?”
The Snake asked curiously.
“No.”
Lucifer, somewhat regretfully yet very proudly, responded, “This means I have never entrusted my ideals to others.
“I have nothing I want to give up, and nothing I want to do but can’t. I can spread my wings on my own and fly toward The Sun.”
The scene shifts.
Aiwass saw the entire sky bathed in dusk yellow.
The Sun had already perished.
The Moon shone with blood-like light, yet it could only redden less than a quarter of the sky.
In the amber-hued sky, countless ruins are floating. Like tea leaves that haven’t been properly steeped, those stems float on the surface of the water.
Looking around, there isn’t any sign of life on the ground. In the sky, however, deformed dragons roar as they soar.
Among them, a dragon with silver wings flies, and a headless monster holds the heads of the Great Sage and Supreme Heaven.
Only the black thorns crawl and wriggle on the ground.
Buildings have turned into ruins, the earth dried and turned into desert. Dreams and reality have fused together, yet even the entire Dream Realm has fallen into decay.
His consciousness is muddled. Lying on the ground, countless black thorns entwine his limbs. His lower body has completely withered, merging with the economy. His hands are decayed like trees, with only the part above the neck barely intact. Yet even around the neck are black maple-leaf-like vein patterns.
After a severe cough, his consciousness somewhat clears.
“—Teacher, teacher!”
Hearing the pure white girl holding his head and crying out: “Don’t die, teacher!”
“[…].”
He heard himself utter a name.
Yet, the moment the name left his lips, the entire world seemed to press the mute button.
“…I’m sorry.”
He smiles wryly, his voice hoarse: “I tried my best.”
“Teacher, there’s still a way, quickly use the Endless Knot!”
The pure white girl almost entirely turned into light, illuminating the little tuft of light in the amber world: “Return to the past—”
“…Return to the past.”
He hears himself mumbling, coldly laughing, as if in a dream: “Will it work…?”
Suddenly, his gaze turns to the pure white girl.
As if realizing something, he opens his eyes wide, the view suddenly clearing.
He coughs violently, shedding tears. Not sure whether being choked or unable to control.
“[…],[…],I’m sorry. I’m sorry… but…”
But after gazing at him blankly, the girl suddenly realizes something.
No one in the world could possibly understand him better than she does.
She suddenly falls silent.
“…I see.”
Slowly, the girl lowers her hands.
She raises her hands bit by bit, slowly grasping the black thorn halo above his head.
“…Endless Knot…also, teacher’s Seat of the Pillar God… leave it all to me.
I will—”
Saying this, she fiercely pulls at the halo bound by black thorns.
His body suddenly accelerates its disintegration.
The girl struggles to pull, so she simply collides into the halo, letting thorns stain her cheeks, neck with red. Allowing the tightening halo to strangle, suffocate her. As the thorny halo completely pierced her throat, merges within—through this method, she forcibly seized control of the Endless Ring held by the newly appointed Taboo Pillar God.
—But such behavior must come at a cost.
As his consciousness swiftly blurred, he felt the entire world seemed to freeze.
In the pure black and pure white world, the girl choking her own throat, life rapidly diminishing, became so vivid. She is the only one with color, but so quickly swallowed by black and white.
“Inheritor—”
And at that moment, his body suddenly disintegrated.
Most of his body, turned into Sin Thorn, transformed into a black coffin, freezing and solidifying the girl’s body before it shattered. While his head completely dissolved, melted, becoming a Golden Apple held in the girl’s arms.
The next moment, the entire world was covered by rushing, surging amber hue.
Frozen, stagnant.
Until everything fell silent.
Not knowing how long passed, the white-haired, wing-eared girl frozen in Amber slightly opened her eyes, raised her body.
She finally reveals what she holds in her arms, carefully protected like an embryo… it’s a Golden Apple.
Thus, time reverses.
She lifts the apple, gently rotates.
Winter, autumn, summer, and spring cycle endlessly, yet the world remains enveloped in amber-colored dusk.
Keep rotating.
Keep retreating.
Until before the story began.
Until…
She saw a boy wearing a monocle, smiling gently and carefree, when looking at her… showing countless complicated expressions in his eyes.
He walks towards her, tentatively reaching out to touch her.
—But this time, she doesn’t fly to him.
She has already closed her eyes, falling into eternal sleep.
Like Amber in an egg. Like an empty cicada slough.
Thus, the world chose a different path.
And now—
With the radiance surging in Aiwass’s hand, the Eden Stone in his grasp thrives again, returning to its original form.
A pure white winged larva, takes flight.