In the depths of the narrator's neural network, in a corner of the New Dream City, which was based on Cecil of the imperial capital, a tall oak tree rose in the center of the square. Under the magnificent canopy, there was a gentle breeze and a pleasant and faintly discernible sound of wind chimes. The giant tree was covered with pale golden leaves. Sunlight shone through the sparse gaps at the edge of the branches and leaves, leaving mottled traces of light and dark, like an afternoon cut by light and shadow.
The square was empty and quiet, with few pedestrians. The residents of the city did not seem to have noticed such a quiet scene in the corner of the city. Directly under the oak tree, a small square table was placed on the ground covered with fallen leaves. Sitting at the table were two of the few "regulars" in the square. One was a gray-haired, old "elf" with a kind face, and the other was a beautiful and mysterious "human" lady in an elegant and solemn black palace dress.
In front of the two gods, there was a game of chess that was hard to decide. The chess pieces that had been arranged with their destinies were moving and killing each other within inches of each other, struggling to seize the world within reach of the chessboard. However, the chess player was indifferent, treating the killing and fighting as a pastime in his spare time. This atmosphere lasted for a long time. The God of Nature, who was sitting at the table in the form of an old elf, suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of the entrance of the Golden Oak Square.
"Looks like we have a guest, Old Deer." The black-haired lady also sensed the sudden presence. She smiled as she looked at the rapidly materializing figure at the edge of the square. "Gwen, why did you suddenly think of coming to the City of Dreams to find us?"
Gawain's figure materialized from a flickering light and shadow. After adapting to the sensation of his senses being reset in an instant, he strode towards the two gods who were playing chess, and sighed when he heard Milmina's voice. "Sigh, I wanted to go to the Courtyard of Disobedience to look for you, but just as I was about to leave, I suddenly felt that it would be better to look for you guys on the internet. You guys spend twenty-three hours a day in the neural network!"
"Yes." Amoun nodded slightly and admitted in a calm tone. "We have accepted the suggestion of the master craftsman, Mr. Nicholas, to reduce the time we spend in the neural network and turn off the neural connector for at least an hour every day for rest."
Gwen was speechless.
He felt that there was something wrong with the communication between him and the two retired gods, but the two gods were so calm that he could not speak for a while. In the end, he could only laugh dryly and quickly but stiffly changed the topic to business. "Actually, I am here today to discuss something with you."
"I can see and guess. If it is not a tricky problem, you rarely take the initiative to chat with us," Mirmina smile, as she raised the chess piece, said indifferently. "I can feel that the set of anti-divinity barrier is working. It seems that the problem you have prepared this time is not simple. So before this problem destroys our leisure time, can we end of this game game of the game of the gods? Don't worry, it won't take long. "
As they spoke, Amoun, who was sitting opposite them, also took a chess piece and placed it down. Amid the crisp sound of the chess piece hitting the chessboard, there was an ethereal sound under the golden oak tree as if the giant tree was also cheering for the god's chess.
"The game of the gods?" It was only then that Gawain noticed the chessboard in front of the two gods. He could not help but widen his eyes and look at it. He was stunned for a moment. It was not until the sound of chess pieces being placed that he finally coughed twice with a strange expression. "Ahem, I don't have a problem with you two playing chess online, but I'm not here today to watch you two play checkers and bring back pieces …"
Amoun turned a deaf ear to Gwen's words and just pushed the chess piece forward. Mirmina, who was next to him, casually said, "Quiet down, this game is going to end soon. We have been playing for hours."
Gwen was stunned. They could play checkers for a whole day. To be honest, this was not a level that ordinary people could reach. But the fact that they called a game of checkers where two lousy chess players sat together for a whole day the "game of the gods" still shocked Gwen. For a moment, he did not know if it was an insult to the "gods" or the "game of chess" … Come to think of it, it was an insult to checkers …
Amidst his wild thoughts, Ah Mo 'en regretted his move again. The game seemed to be getting closer and closer to the end. Gawain finally could not help but interrupt, "Stop, my friends. I'm here today to …"
"Why don't we change the game?" Amoun did not seem to hear Gwen's words. He casually pressed on the chessboard, and the mental projection of the chessboard disappeared in an instant. In its place was a set of cards with beautiful pictures. He looked at Gwen and smiled. "Since we have enough people, why don't we play a game of the gods? Although you have always insisted that you are a mortal, in our view, you have already crossed the threshold of playing against the gods … "
Gawain was about to interrupt him again when he suddenly realized something, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "… You actually know what I'm here to ask."
Amoun, who was about to deal the cards, suddenly stopped. Mirmina spread her hands. After a moment of awkwardness, the former Goddess of Magic finally broke the silence. "You have found the divine kingdom of the God of War, right?"
"… How do you know?" Gwen had already guessed it, but he could not help but feel surprised. "You should not be able to perceive what is happening in the real world except through the neural network. The matter of the divine kingdom of the God of War has not been disclosed in any channel of the neural network, including those confidential channels … How do you know about this?"
"We really don't know what is happening in the 'real world'." Amoun slowly shuffled the cards in his hand. The cards with gorgeous patterns were constantly changing in his hand. "But we are lying in the courtyard of the Realm of Looming Shadow. We can see some changes in the deeper part of the realm … Although only a little."
"The silent divine kingdom of the God of War suddenly echoed. Ripples spread in the deep sea and rippled in the deepest part of the Realm of Looming Shadow. Those slow gods trapped in their own divine kingdoms may not have noticed it, but …" Mirmina smiled softly. "How should I put it? I happen to be an 'idle god' who likes to run around in the Realm of Looming Shadow. So when I went for a walk in the deepest part of the realm, I accidentally saw something. And not long after that, you came. All of this … It's easy to connect the dots. "
"Deep in the Realm of Looming Shadow?" Gwen keenly noticed the key words in Mirmina's words. "You mean that the experiment is indeed connected to the divine kingdom of the God of War, and the 'ripples' caused by this connection can even spread to the Realm of Looming Shadow? So the deepest part of the Realm of Looming Shadow and the 'deep sea' are actually connected? "
The one who responded was Amoun, who was shuffling the cards. He casually threw a card on the table. On the card, there were layers of indescribable swirls and phantoms. All the lines and patterns were constantly changing. "I once said that the 'deep sea' is not a specific 'place.' It … is the deep sea, the bottom of everything. Everything in the world can be projected to the deep sea, and everything in the deep sea can naturally be projected to the world. However, in all the projections, the 'distance' between the deep sea and the Realm of Looming Shadow … is indeed closer than other places.
"The thoughts of the mortals form a projection in the deep sea, and the projection outlines the shadows of the gods. This process is invisible in the real world, but in a place like the Realm of Looming Shadow … As I said just now, the 'distance' is closer."
Listening to Amoun's ambiguous description, Gwen's heart suddenly thought of something. He almost immediately wanted to leave the neural network and go to the Courtyard of Disobedience to look at the depths of the Realm of Looming Shadow. But it was only a momentary impulse. It was not that he had never been to the Realm of Looming Shadow, but what he saw there was only the eternal darkness of chaos. A lot of indescribable turbid clusters floated and changed in the dim background, and in the meantime, lightning-like cracks appeared and disappeared instantly. There was only such monotonous and repetitive scenes there, and in the monotonous sky, he found nothing.
He did not see the thoughts, the light from the divine kingdom, the trajectory of the gods, and of course, the 'deep sea' that seemed to be forever hidden in the fog.
Of course, it was also possible that he had seen it but could not understand or deal with it.
"Do you want to go to the Realm of Looming Shadow now?" Amoun seemed to have seen through Gwen's mind, and a smile appeared on his old face. "Don't think about it. What you can't see, you won't be able to see even if you follow Mirmina to a deeper place … It is not something that your mortal body's visual organs and nervous system can recognize and understand. It is the diffusion of information beyond the senses, and it requires a way of perception beyond the senses. In short, you need the same perspective and life form as us."
"… Okay." Gwen nodded slowly and put the matter aside for the time being. He returned to the previous topic. "Anyway, judging from your attitude … you don't seem to support the bold move of the Typhon people?"
"So the 'ripple' was the masterpiece of the Typhon people?" Mirmina was a little surprised. "I didn't expect this … I thought only Cecil would do such a bold thing."
Amoun answered Gwen's question. "We are more worried that this risky move will bring unexpected changes. For such a bold plan that involves unearthing the secrets of the divine kingdom, even a little accident means disaster … To put it bluntly, we don't dare to take the risk."
"This is something that we really have no confidence in," Mirmina continued. "The gods can't analyze themselves, so we have no idea what will happen if you step into the divine kingdom of the God of War. We can do our best to provide opinions and suggestions on other things, but only on this matter … we can't think of any helpful answer. "
Gwen's expression became serious. He had never seen Mirmina and Amoun show such emotions. The two gods would always give some advice no matter how difficult the problem was, and they never showed any hesitation or weakness. Now, their reaction made Gwen realize that the risk of exploring the divine kingdom of the God of War … may be greater than he thought.
After lowering his head and pondering for a long time, Gawain finally raised his head. "According to your guesses, what is the most serious consequence of this matter?"
"I really can't guess. This is the blind spot of our knowledge as gods." Mirmina sighed helplessly. But after a few seconds of thinking, she gave her own guess. "The worst case scenario may be worse than the exploration team being wiped out on the spot. The failure of the exploration will not only bring death, but also may bring back the fallen God of War. After all, the divine kingdom and the gods are two sides of the same coin. Although the God of War is dead, the divine kingdom of the God of War … in a sense, it is still 'alive'. "
Gwen's eyes widened. "The exploration of mortals can lead to the resurrection of the dying divine kingdom?"
"I'm just guessing …" Mirmina immediately said. "Actually, it's baseless …"
Gwen sighed softly. "Well, in any case, I will carefully consider Typhon's plan …"
Before he could finish his sentence, a familiar voice suddenly came from not far away, interrupting his conversation with Amoun and Mirmina. "On this matter, my attitude is the complete opposite of these two juniors."
Gwen immediately looked in the direction of the voice. Under the clear sky, he saw a figure shrouded in a pale golden halo quickly becoming clear in the air. He saw the iconic ankle-length golden hair, the gorgeous pale golden dress, and the beautiful but majestic face.
It was a familiar figure, but he still froze for a moment before he reacted.
After all, he was used to her reading and drinking tea in the room in her egg form. He was not used to seeing her real form …
Enya could not guess what was in Gwen's mind at this time. She went straight to the golden oak tree and sat opposite Gwen, between Amoun and Mirmina. She then looked at the two 'juniors' and repeated her words. "My attitude is the complete opposite of these two juniors."
"You mean … exploring the divine kingdom of the God of War?" Gwen did not expect Enya to suddenly appear, but after a brief surprise, he focused on what she said. "Do you think the risk of this is acceptable?"
"We need to be bold for once," Enya said, looking at Mirmina on her left. "Mirmina, the Goddess of Magic … You have both the courage and prudence of spellcasters when exploring the unknown. But in this matter, you and Amoun's prudence has overwhelmed your rationality. I know why, because you know how difficult it is for this civilization to come to this step in the matter of 'analyzing the gods'. You don't want to see the fire of hope that has risen with great difficulty extinguished, but please believe me, I don't want this civilization to fail more than you do.
"Because I have waited for far longer than all of you combined.
"Mirmina, you are worried that the exploration of the mortals will revive the divine kingdom of the God of War and even lead to the return of the fallen God of War. I can assure you that the return of the gods is not so simple, especially when the original body has fallen and the divinity has dissipated. It is not so easy for a 'god' to come back."
"… Are you so sure?" Mirmina was still a little hesitant. "After all, we all know that the life form of a 'god' is very special —"
"I have experience," Enya interrupted Mirmina and said with certainty, "I have died before."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
