Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1333 Snake Father: My Beloved Children

This is completely different from the aloof, indifferent, and unresponsive snake father that Aiwas remembered.

The snake father that Aiwass was seeing at this moment was surprisingly gentle and kind!
After being discovered by the snake father, Aiwass was picked up by the snake father and carried to a tall altar made of earth and stone.

The altar is square, with steps leading down on all four sides, like a headless quadrilateral pyramid.

When he was thrown into the center of the altar, there was a moment when Aiwass thought that the Serpent Father was going to sacrifice him... But Aiwass could sense the Serpent Father's feelings and goodwill, so he suppressed the "sense of crisis" that kept warning him and chose to believe the Serpent Father.

"...Your body is too weak, child."

The snake father sighed and gently comforted her, "But it's alright. The pain will subside soon."

As the Serpent Father spoke, He soared into the sky once more, performing an ancient and elegant dragon dance.

A few scales and feathers gradually fell from the sky, melting into bursts of purple light.

They merged into Aiwass's body, and Aiwass's original body began to glow as a result.

—That's like a Pokémon evolving.

In that instant, such a thought popped into Aiwass's mind.

His original body began to grow larger and taller. The snake tail behind him swallowed his legs and turned into a long, golden tail.

It didn't look like a snake's tail; it looked more like a fish's tail. Aiwas's unremarkable black scales turned into coral-like colorful scales, and coral-like dragon horns grew on his head. His platinum-gold hair grew longer and longer, and transparent, butterfly-wing-like, glass-like illusory wings grew from his back.

When Aiwass opened his eyes again... he felt as if he had been reborn.

Abundant magical power, clear thinking, and a strong body.

From a mere mortal who wasn't even a superhuman, he recovered to near his peak condition almost instantly. Aside from lacking the Celestial Fragment, this body even surpassed Aiwas's old body before he reconstructed his Holy Body!
...Is this enlightenment?
but……

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"I can't help but ask," Aiwass asked.

He still remembered what Hengwo had told him—that Fuxi would eventually transcend everything and shatter the void. He should be a detached and ruthless god.

The reason the Serpent Father concealed the divine miracle before his departure was to gradually pass on his great achievements to Ai Shiping. This was to prevent the mortal realm from suffering a catastrophe similar to the fall of the Supreme Heaven when the pillar gods changed...

At this thought, Aiwass suddenly froze.

Yes……

If the Serpent Father is a heartless god, how could He possibly care about life and death in the material world?

According to knowledge from higher divine arts, the Serpent Father greatly dislikes being summoned. In order to prevent people from constantly asking him for favors, the Serpent Father even took the initiative to completely open-source his ritual arts—as long as the procedures and rules are correct, anyone can use ritual arts without having to pray to the Serpent Father or ask for permission.

It was precisely because ritual arts became completely open source and gradually popularized that Serpent Father gradually became the least necessary pillar god to summon.

Because whatever the Serpent Father can do, he can also do through ritual. And the Serpent Father will refuse the vast majority of summons... Although all pillar gods will refuse summons, the Serpent Father's refusal is the most intense, and may even directly destroy the summoning ritual itself.

So... could it be that the Serpent Father was actually a gentle deity?

"Because you are all my children."

The serpent father leaned closer, looking quite pleased: "And you are the most intelligent of them all. You have mastered language and learned to rebel—you were set in the sea, yet you resisted your instincts and went to the land…that's excellent. You are best suited to lead them and bring them into contact with wisdom."

At this distance, Aiwass was finally able to hear the Serpent Father's voice clearly, not just as a divine echo like that of a voice in a sanctuary.

It was a clear, enthusiastic voice from a middle-aged man.

It sounds like glutinous rice wine, Longjing tea after the rain, a scholar with long hair and a long robe, and the black and white Go board.

“Snake Father…”

Aiwas murmured, uttering the name of the Serpent Father. But a feeling of being genuinely treated with kindness was like glue, gradually drawing Aiwas in. He was always unable to resist this type of tenderness… not to mention, now the Serpent Father had spared no expense in giving him a new life upon their first meeting.

"Snake Father? Ah... 'Father of the Snake'?"

Unexpectedly, the snake father seemed quite interested in the name, but also somewhat troubled: "Actually... besides snakes and fish, those winged birds are also my children. Hmm... yes, I am not only your father, you also have some brothers you have never met."

As He spoke, He looked somewhat forlorn: "And most importantly, you were not born because of me. It was after your birth that I reawakened in this world. In terms of the order of your birth, I may not be much older than you, my child. It's just that my blood flows in your veins—you are a part of me."

……what?

Aiwas paused for a moment, then realized something: the Snake Father at this time didn't seem to be called the Snake Father yet.

"How should I address you, Great Creator?"

Aiwas asked humbly and respectfully.

“My name is Mi Xi. This name is not related to my race, but is my personal name.”

The snake father taught with unparalleled patience, like a kindergarten teacher carefully instructing a particularly bright child: "You must also have your own names. With names, you can distinguish one another; with language, you can truly touch the truth."

As he spoke, the snake father leaned closer expectantly: "How about I give you a name?" "I..."

Just as Aiwas was about to decline, he suddenly lost control of his body.

Or rather, he suddenly entered a CG—

"I have my own name."

The newly born feathered serpent, with its magnificent scales and feathers, said, "My name is Ai Shiping."

"...A good name, in the name of love, for world peace..."

Upon hearing this name, Snake Father, who was not yet called Snake Father, praised the name "Ai Shiping" but then suddenly fell silent.

"You're from another world too."

The snake father exclaimed, "Are you one of Zharwan's men?"

“…Zarwan?”

Aiwas remembered that it seemed to be the candle keeper's real name.

"Or perhaps... Nyarlathotep?" the snake father asked tentatively.

—And who is that?
Aiwas was somewhat confused.

"It seems your arrival is irrelevant to them."

His confusion seemed to reach the Snake Father, who replied with a smile, "But you'll see him eventually—Nyarlathotep's full name is too difficult to pronounce, so I gave him a new name, Kunpeng..."

"Do you know what that thing above your head is called? That's called the sun, or the Great Sun. It also has its own name, Taiyi. In fact, your true father and mother are Taiyi. I merely provided the prototype for information. Your true creator is Taiyi, because He controls the River of Creation, and this world was recreated by Him..."

"Do you know, Ai Shiping... this world was destroyed once before. I originally lived in the world before the destruction. Our technology was very advanced. Although we couldn't travel to other parallel worlds, we were already able to explore the universe... Do you know what the universe is?"

"What was your original world like? I've never seen such a weak person from another world... Did you come to this world by taking a Sky Chariot? Zarwan told me that travel between worlds usually requires a Sky Chariot. Without a Sky Chariot, you would get lost in the endless worlds of the Dream River and not be able to find your way."

"Nyarlathotep has supposedly been to many worlds, and I'm a little envious of him. I haven't been to any other worlds yet. He says he likes to go to worlds that are about to be destroyed, to experience their demise or rebirth... I don't quite understand his preferences, but I choose to respect them. I used to enjoy standing on Venus, feeling the sun brush past me, feeling the arrival of destruction and rebirth. I think these are similar interests..."

"Tell me your story, okay? Do you also call the world you stand on Earth? What year is it in the Gregorian calendar? What's the farthest star you've ever touched?"

The snake father seemed to have endless things to say.

He doesn't even seek an answer from "Ai Shiping" and will jump to the next topic on his own—like muttering to himself while holding his own cat or dog.

The snake father has been lonely for far too long.

Compared to the duality of Sand Clock, which is either rigid and solemn or cunning and mercenary, the Serpent Father's posture appears more dignified and sacred, yet it also possesses a childlike enthusiasm.

But it's only natural that he has a childlike heart.

Aiwass soon learned from the Serpent Father that His mental age was not as old as Aiwass had thought.

Completely different from his reliable adult voice—

Unlike the Sand Clock, the Sand Clock was already an old man before it became the Sin Thorn.

As one of the greatest masterpieces of the pre-civilization and the embodiment of the essence of rune technology, Fuxi only lived a short sixteen-year life from its creation to its sealing as the Sin Thorn.

But when he woke up, he found himself in a desert.

Apart from the sand clock, everyone else was a stranger.

The Serpent Father could no longer see any beings of his own time; everything around him was a bewildered creature, hardly more advanced than wild animals. Even among the Sand Clocks, their race, age, status, and beliefs were completely different—even diametrically opposed.

"...Are you lonely?"

Aiwas murmured.

He only realized the moment he said those words that the CG had ended sometime earlier.

Upon hearing his words, the snake father suddenly fell silent.

"Yes."

The snake father sighed, slowly landed on the altar, and lay down.

His enormous size paled in comparison to Aiwas. Aiwas, from head to tail, wasn't even half the length of the Serpent Father's tail. Now, coiled up and protected by the Serpent Father, he looked like a tiny fish fry.

"I really hope you grow up quickly."

The snake father longed for his children: "My beloved children..."

(End of this chapter)