Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1254: The Day of Cicada Shedding
As Aiwass relaxed his grip on power slightly, an amber glow emanated from him.

As Aiwass slightly raised his head back, his skin gradually became transparent - the strong amber power completely submerged all the colors on Aiwass' body and smoothed out all the textures on his body, turning Aiwass into an amber human figure with star-like glow, just like a blown-up sugar man.

After sensing Aiwass's power, the "Stone of Eden" that had been silent for a long time suddenly began to tremble and hum.

It was vibrating slightly on the table, like a cell phone with the vibrator turned on. With each vibration, it gradually moved closer to Aiwass.

Aiwass's consciousness gradually became blurred... and before his consciousness completely evaporated, he subconsciously stretched out his finger forward and touched the Stone of Eden.

At that moment——

Golden ripples like water waves echoed in the air, and as Aiwass's fingers got closer to the Stone of Eden, the ripples became denser and brighter.

And when Aiwass actually touched the Stone of Eden, a clear memory suddenly flashed in his mind:

In front of him was a white bug... or rather a white bug that was nearly the same size as the Stone of Eden.

It looks a bit like a beetle, with a hexagonal protrusion on its back. However, it is not a beetle's thin, transparent wings, but a furry feather. This makes it look more like a pet than a monster...

He stretched out his hand, and it flew towards and landed on the fingertips of Aiwass. The six wings behind it slowly closed, reflecting a pure and sacred glow under the white light.

When he got this close, Aiwass could finally see its appearance clearly.

It looked a bit like the head of a cicada. The protruding parts, like shrimp eyes, were actually two dim yellow gems. It was about the size of a walnut... If you removed the head and wings, it would be the Stone of Eden.

The only difference is that the color of the "gem" on its back is not the solid emerald green, but a flowing gold.

It looked like some kind of fluid, shining with a dark golden liquid that was almost as thick as paste. It looked like nail polish, but also like gel water. There were tiny fragments shining like stars inside, and it looked like some kind of space capsule.

——Which part is the main body?

A question arose in Aiwas' mind.

Is it this insect-like head, or the pure white feather... or the liquid in the small backpack on the back?
“—It’s the liquid inside.”

A gentle, familiar voice sounded from Aiwas's heart.

He turned around and saw someone who looked familiar... but whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

——It was Lucifer.

The twelve pure white wings that had not yet been cut and were still inlaid with gold and jewels had a power that was more dazzling and brilliant than that of the Fallen Angel and Lucifer.

His coming alone makes the surrounding light flaunt and stir.

He stood beside Aiwass and looked at the little thing crawling on Aiwass's fingertips with interest.

"It likes you very much, snake."

"How should I raise this child?"

The snake thought to itself, "What does it usually eat?"

He looked at the child and felt an incomparably pure joy from the bottom of his heart.

"All winged beings live towards the light."

Lucifer’s gentle voice echoed in the snake’s heart: “Draw the light from people’s hearts, just as you scaly ones draw physical nourishment… we winged ones draw spiritual nourishment.

“Ideals, hopes, friendships, courage… these are all precious nutrients. Just like aphids sucking tree sap. So they are usually placed in the tower. There is an endless light echoing here.”

Lucifer said as he gently touched the white-feathered larva.

As he raised his hand, a layer of golden glow slowly spread out like a curtain, and the whole world shook slightly.

It first moved closer to Lucifer, but just before being touched by the fingers, it suddenly shuddered, twitched violently, and flew up with its wings flapping. After circling around the two of them a few times, it landed on the snake's right shoulder.

That was the direction away from Lucifer.

"...but at the same time, too much light can burn us."

Lucifer was somewhat helpless: "It likes you very much. It must be because there is light in your heart...pure, flawless and full of hope."

"——Is this also why you became friends with me?"

Hearing this, the snake turned around and looked at Lucifer.

"Yes."

Lucifer did not hide anything: "It can't be called flawless, but it's pure enough; it can't be called hot, but it's not cold. Compared with the sun, it's not as dazzling, but it has a unique rhythm. I like your light very much."

He said, looking at the larva resting on the snake's shoulder: "It looks like it likes you too."

"What is the gender of the child?"

The snake asked curiously, teasing the larva on its shoulder: "Can I come here more often to keep it company in the future?"

"The most primitive winged beings have no gender, because we are all born from light. Every ideal will become a new eggshell, drawing light from the hearts of others, growing wings, and flying to the sun."

Lucifer's voice in the snake's heart was gentle and bright: "Those winged beings with genders are actually polluted by impure light. There are chaotic frequencies in their hearts, so these ideals are stained with distorted light. But even so, it is still light...

"——Why don't you take it away, snake."

After a moment of silence, Lucifer made a suggestion that surprised the snake: "I believe in your light. It may be better for it to follow you than to follow us."

"...What will happen if you follow me?"

"It will inherit your ideals. Don't you scaly people have this saying? Offspring are the continuation of their parents. The offspring of winged people are also the continuation of their parents - not physical blood, but spiritual inheritance."

"…Do you have any offspring of your own?"

The snake asked curiously.

"No."

Lucifer felt a little regretful, but also very proud: “This means that I have never entrusted my ideals to others.

“There is nothing I want to give up, and nothing I want to do that I cannot do. I can spread my wings and fly to the sun by myself.”

The scene changes.

Aiwass saw the sky full of dim yellow.

The sun is dead.

The moon shone with a blood-like light, but it could only illuminate less than a quarter of the sky.

In the dim yellow sky, countless ruins were floating, like unroasted tea leaves with tea stems floating on the water.

Looking around, there was no living creature on the ground. In the sky, there were deformed dragons roaring and flying. One of them had silver-white wings, and there was also a flying headless monster holding the heads of Wei Zhe and Zhi Gaotian in its hands.

Only the dark thorns were wriggling and crawling on the ground.

Buildings were reduced to ruins, the land dried up and turned into a desert. Dreams and reality merged together, but even the entire dream world was in ruins.

His consciousness was in a state of confusion. He lay on the ground, with countless dark thorns entangled on his limbs. His lower body had completely dried up and merged with the thorns. His hands were as withered as trees, and only the part above his neck was barely intact. However, even his neck had black network veins like maple leaves.

After a violent cough, his consciousness seemed to become vaguely clearer.

“——Teacher, teacher!”

I heard the pure white girl holding her head and crying, "Don't die, teacher!"

“[……].”

He heard himself say a name.

However, the moment I said it, the whole world seemed to have muted itself.

“…I’m sorry.”

He smiled bitterly, his voice hoarse: "I tried my best."

"Teacher, there is another way. Use the Tail Ring!"

The pure white girl almost turned into light, illuminating the small ball of wool in the dim world: "Go back to the past——"

“…Go back to the past.”

He heard himself mumbling and sneering, like a dream: "Will it work...?"

Suddenly, his eyes turned to the pure white girl.

As if realizing something, he opened his eyes wide and his vision suddenly became clear.

He coughed violently and shed tears. It was unclear whether it was because he was choking or because he couldn't help himself.

“…,…, I’m sorry. I’m sorry… but…”

After looking at him blankly, the girl suddenly realized something.

There is no one in the world who understands him better than her.

She suddenly fell silent.

"……I see."

The girl slowly lowered her hand.

Her hands moved up little by little, slowly grasping the black thorn halo on his head.

"...The Tail Ring...and, Sensei's position as the Pillar God...leave it all to me.

"I am—"

As she spoke, she suddenly pulled the halo that was entangled with black thorns.

His body suddenly began to disintegrate at an accelerated rate.

The girl couldn't pull it away, so she simply ran into the halo, letting the thorns stain her cheeks and neck red. She allowed the tightening halo to strangle and suffocate her. As the halo of thorns completely pierced her throat and sank into it - in this way, she forcibly took away the control of the Tail Ring from the newly appointed Taboo Pillar God.

——But this behavior must come at a price.

As his consciousness quickly blurred, he felt as if the whole world seemed to freeze.

In the world of pure black and white, only the girl who was strangling her own throat and whose life was rapidly fading away became so clear. She was the only existence with color, but she was also swallowed up by black and white very quickly.

"The heir——"

And at that moment, his body suddenly collapsed.

The sin thorn formed by the condensation of most of his body turned into a black coffin, freezing and solidifying the girl's body before it was on the verge of breaking. His head completely dissolved and melted, turning into a golden apple held in the girl's arms.

The next moment, the whole world was covered by a roaring dim yellow color.

Freeze, stagnate.

Until everything was silent.

After an unknown amount of time, the white-haired girl with winged ears frozen in amber opened her eyes slightly and straightened her body.

She finally revealed what she was holding in her arms, something she was protecting as carefully as a fetus...it was a golden apple.

So, time goes back.

She lifted the apple and spun it slightly.

Winter, autumn, summer and spring keep changing, but the world is always covered by amber dusk.

Keep spinning.

Keep going backwards.

Until the whole story began.

until...

She saw a carefree boy wearing a monocle, with a gentle smile. When he looked at her... there were thousands of complicated expressions in his eyes.

He walked towards her and touched her tentatively.

—But this time, she didn't fly towards him.

She had closed her eyes and fallen into an eternal sleep.

Like amber in an egg. Like an empty cicada shell.

So the world took another path.

And now——

As the light in Aiwass's hand surged, the Stone of Eden in his hand came back to life and returned to its original appearance.

The pure white winged larva flaps its wings and flies up.

(End of this chapter)