absurd deduction game.

The moment the Mother Goddess descended, bright gold fell upon the human world.

At first, it was just a few wisps, thin and drifting, leaking down through the gaps in the polluted clouds, moonlight, and starlight.

Then there were more and more.

The golden, dry, and warm silhouettes of wheat ears, like dandelion seeds or the first light snow of early winter, fluttered down.

They fall slowly and lightly, almost without weight. When they encounter the viscous air congealed by pollution, they make no sound, but silently penetrate and drift, eventually landing on the ground, on the eaves, on those distorted and deformed objects, and on people's upturned faces.

There was no grand burst of light, no deafening sacred sound, just a quiet, gentle "rain" of wheat ears.

The effect was immediate.

When the phantom of the wheat ears touched the stone pavement covered with pale, bone-like branches, the stone slabs slowed their movement.

Tiny, tender green shoots sprouted from the gaps in the branches. Although their shapes were somewhat strange, with fine serrations on the edges of their leaves and veins tinged with a faint blood-red hue, they were indeed plants, exuding a fresh scent of soil and life.

The enormous, constantly blinking eyes on the wall, dripping with pus, slowed down their blinking frequency after being brushed by the phantoms of a few ears of wheat.

The pus dried and congealed, turning into a dark brown, soil-like hard lump. Then, from the cracks in the lump, slender vines sprouted, and thumb-sized, bright red berries quickly formed on the vines, their surfaces still glistening with dewdrops—if one could ignore the occasional reflections of human faces on those dewdrops.

The thick smell of sulfur and rotting flesh in the air was diluted by a faint aroma mixed with the scent of wheat, fruit, and post-rain earth.

Those translucent shadows that swirled and shrieked in mid-air, upon touching the falling golden ears of wheat, were like hot irons, sizzling and dissipating, or hastily retreating to darker corners.

The plants are growing wildly.

It wasn't the kind of violent, aggressive growth; it spread gently yet with unwavering determination, its roots deeply embedded in the polluted and alienated earth, like countless gentle yet powerful hands pressing down on a piece of land about to crumble and collapse, pushing out the rules of the starry hell that had been forcibly superimposed, little by little, irresistibly.

The town's outline became clear again under the cover of vegetation.

The distorted building was wrapped and supported by vines and shrubs, halting its further twisting.

The streets regained their original shape, though they were covered with various edible but strangely shaped crops, such as mushrooms that looked like ears, low shrubs bearing fruits in the shape of human faces, and broadleaf grasses that seemed to hum lullabies...

A grand yet bizarre harvest, amidst apocalyptic pollution, forcibly carved out a vibrant realm belonging to the earth.

In the attic, beside the altar.

A few strands of golden wheat pierced through the broken dome and drifted down between Yu Xing and the musician.

Yu Xing paused slightly on the brand on her abdomen and raised her head.

Golden light fell into his deep pupils.

The marks on his face and body, distorted by pollution, did not disappear immediately under the warm light, but their writhing slowed down noticeably. The cloying, insane whispers of pollution that rushed straight to his head were also somewhat diluted by a calm background sound, like the breathing of the earth.

The performer also tilted his head slightly, looking at the golden rain of light that fell from the sky, gentle yet containing a tremendous vitality.

The usual, enigmatic smile on his face faded slightly, and a clear thought flashed in his eyes.

"The Harvest Mother Goddess... has finally arrived." He murmured to himself, his voice barely loud enough for Yu Xing, who was standing right next to him, to hear. "It seems the rules impose even greater restrictions on true gods than I imagined. Is this the price one has to pay for choosing to become a being from another dimension and becoming deeply bound to the rules?"

His last sentence was spoken even softer, with a hint of thoughtfulness.

But soon, his attention returned to the black mud hanging upside down in front of him and the Starry Sky Kingdom that was being stabilized and expelled, and his eyes became focused again.

In the corner of the attic, Herbert was the first to kneel down on one knee, slamming his warhammer to the ground with a clang, sending sparks flying.

He lowered his head, his heavy breathing gradually calming down. His face was a mixture of the excitement of surviving a catastrophe and pure piety. In a dry but incredibly clear voice, he chanted: "Praise be to you, merciful Mother Goddess, embodiment of harvest and earth... Thank you for your mercy..."

The other surviving priests of Harvest Church, regardless of the severity of their injuries, struggled to assume prayer or kneeling positions as long as they could move.

The filth and faint starlight stains on their bodies, under the golden light of the wheat, slowly faded like thin snow exposed to the sun. Tears mixed with blood and sweat slid down some people's faces, but the light of hope was rekindled in their eyes.

Sister Celine of the Church of the Silk Goddess and Deacon Murphy of the Church of the Machine also bowed slightly, clasping their hands together in front of their chests: "Greetings to you, Mother of Harvest and Earth, Goddess of Joy and Mercy."

A warm golden light enveloped them, dispelling the chilling cold and madness that had seeped into their bones.

Although the plants outside were growing in strange ways and the crisis was not yet over, this "rain" falling from the sky was undoubtedly the strongest stimulant.

On the other side of the attic, in a corner.

Carlos brushed back the stray hairs from his sweat-dampened forehead, revealing a smooth forehead and a pair of deep, emerald-green eyes that appeared exceptionally profound in the dim light.

He grinned, revealing a radiant and spirited smile.

“Ah…” Carlos exclaimed with a smile, “You’ve finally arrived, Mother Goddess.”

His gaze swept across the window.

Under the cover of golden wheat rain and the stabilizing effect of the wildly growing roots of the earth-belonging plants, the starry sky kingdom scene, which had been forcibly overlapping with the town and spreading like a festering wound, was being visibly "squeezed" outwards.

The filthy, bloody streets are fading and blurring; the eyes on the walls are closing and disappearing; and the sticky pollution in the air is being replaced by a fresh breath of life.

Although the process was far from peaceful, with plant roots and stems fiercely battling against residual pollutants, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound, the trend was clear—this area was being reclaimed.

He glanced again in the direction of the altar.

The upside-down black mud rippled violently under the combined influence of the golden light and the reversed runes.

The blood-moon in the sky was still entangled with the black branches and moss, but its movements were noticeably more sluggish. The approaching "stars" of various shapes also seemed to be hindered by some invisible force.

The ancient god's true form clearly felt intense rejection and suppression. The power of the righteous god, represented by the Harvest Mother Goddess, was re-establishing the rules of "this world" on this land.

“It must have been quite an achievement for the archbishop to be able to find the passage to descend,” Carlos muttered to himself, cracking his knuckles.

He lowered his hand, his fingers seemingly casually twirling the edge of the magician's hat.

A playing card appeared between his fingers.

This is no ordinary paper playing card; the silver face of the card gleams with a cold, metallic sheen. In the center of the card, a sleek bullet design, shimmering with an orange-gold glow, is outlined with simple yet powerful lines.

Carlos held the special playing card, his emerald eyes slightly narrowed, gazing at the dark sky beyond the blood moon and stars, a relatively "clean" expanse shrouded in thick, filthy clouds.

He raised his other hand, in which he was now holding a simple, sleek silver pistol—the standard equipment of an investigator.

“Then…” Carlos’s smile deepened, tinged with a feverish anticipation, as he finished his self-talk, “as we agreed…”

His wrist, which was holding the silver playing card, trembled very slightly!
laugh--

A soft sound, like the sharpest blade slicing through silk.

The bullet pattern on the silver playing card suddenly lit up with a dazzling orange-gold light!
It was impossible to see what was happening before it transformed into a real, special bullet with a brass casing and an orange-gold bullet tip, which landed precisely in the open magazine of the silver pistol.

"Click."

The sound of the gun being cocked was crisp and clean.

Carlos raised his gun, his arm outstretched, but the muzzle was not aimed at the nearby altar, nor at the blood moon in the sky, nor even at any of the materialized enemies.

He was aiming at a relatively "clean" area in that dark sky, an area that looked like it had nothing at all.

“Come, gods, help me complete…” He pulled the trigger, his voice unusually clear and joyful amidst the deafening roar of the bullet leaving the barrel, “…the greatest magic of all time!”

boom--! ! !
The gunshots weren't particularly deafening, but they possessed a peculiar penetrating power.

The gun spewed out a small, concentrated, intense orange-gold light.

The special bullet left the barrel without falling or deviating, shooting straight into the sky where he was aiming.

The bullet trailed a long, dazzling orange-gold tail, ignoring the distance, and instantly reached the target area, disappearing into the thick, filthy clouds.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then--

Like a red-hot iron plunged into ice water, or a sharp blade tearing through cloth.

The cloud where the bullet pierced suddenly burst forth with a light far more intense and pure than any starlight!

The orange-gold light exploded outwards from the point of impact of the bullet. The thick, viscous clouds, rich in pollutants, seemed to have met their nemesis under the intense light. They began to evaporate with a hissing sound and became thinner and more transparent at a visible speed. Then, they were violently pushed away in all directions by an invisible but powerful force!

The view that had been obscured behind the clouds quickly came into view.

Initially, it was just a small, dazzling spot of light.

The light spot rapidly expanded and spread, instantly transforming into a boundless, magnificent, and dazzling orange-gold ocean of light!
Once the filthy clouds were completely driven to the edge of the field of vision, what was revealed above the sky was a complete, enormous sun, radiating boundless light and heat—

sun.

It is that star that should be high in the sky during the day and sink below the horizon at night. It is hanging in the night sky above Yolikev, at the far distance where it should be. However, its light is brighter, more direct and more unobstructed than ever before!
The golden sunlight, like a scorching waterfall or a purifying flame, pierced through all the remaining filth below with unstoppable force.

Those lingering shadows of the Starry Sky Kingdom, still locked in a final struggle with the plant roots, faded and dissolved rapidly under the direct sunlight, like ghosts exposed to the scorching sun, emitting silent, mournful screams.

The terrifying gaping maw on the surface of the blood moon twisted and contracted painfully in the sunlight, causing the entire outline of the moon to become unstable.

Those approaching "stars" of various shapes and sizes seemed to have encountered a natural enemy, their light dimmed suddenly, their trajectories became disordered, and some even began to "move away" in the opposite direction.

The plants, whose forms were somewhat strange, were nurtured by the Goddess of Harvest. After being exposed to the pure and intense sunlight, they began a second, even more frenzied growth! Their branches and leaves became more expansive, their colors brighter, and their roots penetrated deeper into the earth, completely stabilizing this space.

The skies over the entire town of Yolikev were clear!
The filthy clouds dispersed, the menacing blood moon faded, and the eerie stars retreated.

All that remained was the warm, endless golden sunlight, and the vibrant, earth-bound "new jungle" beneath it, composed of bizarre plants.

"Too...sun?!"

"How can there be sunshine at night?!"

"It's a miracle!"

The townspeople and priests who survived the ordeal looked up at the incredible sun in the night sky through the church windows or from their hiding places, and exclaimed in disbelief.

After the initial shock subsided, a deeper sense of awe and excitement followed.

The sunlight shone on me, dispelling the last trace of chill and unease, bringing a real, heartwarming warmth that brought tears to my eyes.

In the attic, Carlos had already raised a hand to shield his eyes, squinting his emerald green eyes as he adjusted to the suddenly bright light.

"Ha... magic trick, it worked."

"If it weren't for this... I wouldn't be so tired."

Time and space are inherently one, and the flow of space highlights the symbol T of time, which should not exist in science.

Magicians are skilled at making people disappear into thin air, but if they can move people from one place to another, then... what about stars?

It's not bad either.

So, the reason Carlos seemed to be struggling just now was simply because he was multitasking.

However, at this very moment when the sun shines brightly and the earth's power is vigorously reviving—

On the altar, a strange change suddenly occurred.

The power of sunlight and the Mother Goddess of Harvest reached its peak in its repulsion and suppression of the ancient god's true form.

The clump of black mud, suspended upside down and woven from moss to resemble a false human body, trembled violently!

The wisp of ancient god's consciousness within it, like a drop of water plunged into boiling oil, emitted an even sharper, more painful silent scream! (End of Chapter)