Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1334 is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.
Actually, Aiwass originally wanted to do something too.

pity……

Under the biased leadership of the "Circum-Space Commissioner," Aiwass now can't even see what his mission objective is. Without an objective, he naturally can't know which direction to strive in.

The only thing that could console Aiwas was that 10,000 to 1 time ratio.

Aiwas entered the promotion ceremony at midnight. Even if he spent seven or eight years inside, it would only be dawn outside.

This means that Aiwas has a fairly high margin for error, so there's no need to rush for now.

Moreover, if one's mindset becomes unstable, it is tantamount to providing a flaw for nihilism.

So Aiwas settled down and settled down to experience this new chapter of his life.

If life on Aiwas's side is one of extreme busyness, then here it's one of leisurely idleness.

Aiwas is busy almost every day. He sets himself tasks that can be completed two months in advance. And whenever he has a little free time, unexpected situations immediately arise, or someone comes looking for trouble.

From the day Aiwass summoned the Shadow Fiend until this ascension ceremony, he had never truly relaxed. Only Isabel could give his taut nerves a brief respite, a temporary escape from the impending apocalypse and the endless stream of enemies.

This promotion ceremony was less of an assessment and more of a rare vacation.

He is, after all, a time traveler, which means that the current "Ai Shiping" has no home to return to.

Since there's no need to return to the sea or rejoin the clan... Aiwass can now travel around with his snake father.

The snake father was very happy to have a playmate who could always be with him.

He took Aiwass and flew to all corners of the world—

In this era, the land connecting the southern continent with the "Star Antimony Kingdom" had not yet sunk into the sea, and the natural barrier here was still a thoroughfare.
Avalon is much larger in this era than in the past, and it is almost contiguous with the land of the Theocracy... and both of these lands are now wastelands, completely devoid of any trace of civilization.

In this world, there are no elves, no giants, no dwarves, and not even magical beasts in the wasteland. As far as the eye can see, there are hardly any plants. There are no weeds or wildflowers on the ground, only a few exceptionally large trees scattered sparsely across the wasteland.

The snake father led Aiwass to a deserted island deep in the sea to see how the tides swallowed it and then spat it out.

The Snake Father then took Aiwass to the North and South Poles, where they gazed upon the thick ice sheets. These ice sheets covered an area even larger than the "globe" Aiwass remembered.

After that, the Serpent Father even pulled Aiwass towards the sun—

Initially, Aiwass was both worried and afraid.

He had become accustomed to the Curtain of Equilibrium and the Wall of Amber, but forgot that such things did not exist in this era.

They rushed straight towards the scorching sun and passed right through it!

As he passed the sun, Aiwass did not feel the deadly heat, but rather vaguely sensed a kind of still somewhat chaotic intellectual consciousness.

That was the most ancient sun god of this world, the second sun, Taiyi.

Why is Taiyi the second sun?

Aiwas quickly understood.

Because when he flew out of the sun with the serpent father, he witnessed a spectacle he had never seen before—

That was the vast universe, and the solar system he knew all too well.

The enormous sun on the horizon, its heat felt so cold here. The planet beneath their feet had darkened to the point of being almost invisible. It was like looking inside through the privacy glass of a car.

Every planet in the solar system is now a ruin. They clearly bear traces of past life, but are now deserted.

With the pride of presenting a treasure, the Snake Father led Aiwass to various planets.

An unmanned mechanical factory still spinning idly, a shattered teleportation array, a half-built spaceship, a mirrored device that looks like a solar panel, and towering yet collapsed towers.

This was the "truth" that shocked Aiwass so much.

This is the world we once lived in.

The Serpent Father transmitted information to Aiwass through thought. It was not in any language, but directly conveyed complete information without being diminished by words—and the information was accompanied by strong emotions.

It was regret, sadness, loneliness, and solitude...

It also evokes pride, joy, confidence, and determination.

No wonder……

Aiwas suddenly understood.

This unique ability of "mental communication" possessed by the winged race is precisely what facilitates survival and communication in the universe.

When it looked up at Earth from these planets, it found that Earth had completely disappeared—as if it had become invisible, and its existence could not be seen with the naked eye.

If it weren't for the hole there, it would be completely invisible.

The snake father looked up in the direction of Earth and said with some regret.

It's just a pity... the Twilight Species drilled a hole in it from the inside. This makes it detectable from outer space.

They spent about a year traveling throughout the entire solar system.

When the two feathered serpents crossed the sun again and returned to Earth... the land had already shown some signs of life.

They went to see the winged ones.

Whether it's a giant golden bird, a strange insect resembling a butterfly, or a winged being with a human form, they are all winged beings. The latter even has a strange branch where "the head is a bird" and "the body is a bird."

This is likely due to errors and confusion arising from the information being decompressed from the sinful thorns.

The Tower of Babel was nearing completion, and the Sand Clock was teaching the newborn winged beings about shame, instructing them to use magic to weave garments for themselves.

From afar, within the winged colony, Aiwas spotted a figure that seemed somewhat familiar. This person appeared to hold the Sand Clock in utmost reverence, his eyes practically gleaming with admiration.

That was not Lucifer.

...That seems to be the Winged Celestial Division.

But the two feathered serpents did not land.

They also went to see the scaly ones.

Despite being the king of the Scaled, Aiwass did not rule over the race like Lucifer or Winged Sky Lord. He merely made an appearance to inform the Scaled—they now had a king!

After all, the differences between these scaled beings are even greater than those among the winged beings.

Some of them resembled mermaids, others fish-men. There were also people who looked like lizards, or giant crocodiles... and most of them were actually ancient fish that had never gained sentience, living chaotically in the sea. Those who crawled ashore were mostly mentally challenged.

Unlike winged beings who can survive simply by basking in the sun, scaly beings prey on each other.

The stronger eat the weaker, the wiser eat the foolish. Those scaled creatures that have come ashore begin to prey on and devour those that have not yet come ashore.

—This is precisely the birth of the path of "hunting" and "eating," and its impact on the world.

They lacked the winged beings' ability to communicate telepathically, and they didn't yet have a unified language. The rudimentary languages ​​of each tribe were completely independent... Aiwass had absolutely no interest in teaching a group of savages and beasts, so he left with the Serpent Father.

The Serpent Father even took Aiwass to see the Sky-Eating Beast Nibiru—an extremely terrifying monster engulfed in flames.

It looks like a giant bear, but has a human face. Its body is covered in protective scales, and it has a thick, powerful tail.

It roams the rocky wasteland, devouring everything in its path.

A mysterious hunter relentlessly challenges the colossal beast that devours the heavens—a creature of striking beauty, appearing both man and woman. It wields a shield made of ice and a massive bow capable of freezing water, and is accompanied by a gigantic crocodile.

It was a war between fire and water.

Their battle relentlessly destroyed the surrounding world. All that was caught in the crossfire perished... and the hunter repeatedly failed and fled. But each time, he grew stronger and returned.

These two arch-enemies are intertwined, fixing each other in the very center of this vast and desolate continent, quite far from the Tower of Babel.

So Ah Huan was born into this world so early!

Aiwas was also amazed by this secret.

He finally had the chance to ask the Serpent Father the question that had puzzled him for so long: "Why did you create Nibiru to fight against that person? Is the conflict between you and Zhuanxu really that great?"

"Nice?"

The snake father answered softly, "You should have heard of this name."

“…I’ve heard it in many different ways,” Aiwass replied vaguely.

Perhaps due to his severe internet addiction, his first reaction to the word was "Good gun!" or "Easy to fire!", rather than any mystical or mythological archetype...

"The ancient Egyptian god of hunting, Zhuanxu, gave her this name to bestow upon her this divinity. Names have power... Once you understand this principle, you should be able to become one of us."

As the Snake Father spoke, he looked at Aiwass.

He stated firmly, "Besides that, there is another reason why we created them... that is, I need to obtain the number eight."

"I want to establish an ironclad rule: this world is constantly evolving."

“You will eventually be stronger than me. You must be stronger than me. Although there are only eight source rivers in this world, I hope that in the future there will be nine, ten—even a hundred, a thousand.”

"Eight source rivers..."

Aiwas murmured, "What about the original civilization? How many source rivers did the original civilization have?"

"Eight items."

The Snake Father turned his head and looked at the sun in the sky: "So far, Zarwan has reopened the blocked source river. In our time, when we discovered the source river, there were only eight of them."

"Creation, difference, civilization, truth, order, continuity, power, change—these are the elements that constitute the entirety of the world. In the past, power followed difference, and civilization arose from power; and change followed order."

"The sacred number of change at that time was 7, and the number of truth was 8. But after truth, we exhausted everything, yet we could no longer create a source river—because we had already obtained the final answer."

"It was this answer that led us to the stars and the sea...and it was this answer that destroyed our civilization."

“We wanted to open the River of 'Perfection,' but after exhausting all our efforts… we got a 'mistake.' And it was this mistake that ultimately led to our destruction. That’s why I want to obtain the sacred number eight—to open the River of 'Perfection' once again to its limit.”

“I think the fundamental reason why the source rivers could not be opened up is that when we discovered them, our civilization had already become completely solidified. Now, all eight source rivers have been dredged, but civilization is still in its embryonic stage... There has never been a more opportune time for change than now.”

As the God of Change in the new civilization, the Serpent Father gazed at the sun and slowly said, "Not only the Source River... I also want to restore the culture, technology, morality, and power of this world to their former glory. In fact, I share the same opinion as Zhuanxu on this point."

"—However, I believe that even if we reach this point, it is not the end, but merely the beginning. It is not even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning."

Having said that, the giant feathered serpent lowered its body and nestled intimately against Aiwass: "You are my successor, Aishiping."

"In our civilization, a person carries many labels. For example, someone's son, someone's grandson. These are proof that a great being has left a mark on this world."

“I hope you can surpass me, Ai Shiping. I don’t want you to become the ‘Son of Xi’, I want me to become the ‘Father of the Snake’.”

"—I hope that you can personally create that destroyed ninth source river. I don't care if it's a mistake or a perfection... I only know that if the world only stays at the level of pursuing 'truth,' it may seem to have obtained all the mysteries, but in reality, it is no different from death."

Even if it's a mistake... even a mistake gives the world a direction to make amends, a possibility to correct it! It's better than stagnation! I think, perhaps after that unforgivable mistake, lies a miracle and hope—

"……I will."

Aiwas gazed into the Serpent Father's bright, shining eyes and spoke slowly.

At that moment, the whole world suddenly slowed down, turned dim and yellowish, and finally froze completely.

Yes, you will. Just like I did back then.

A mocking voice slowly rang out.

That was indeed the voice of the Celestial Division. And it was also Aiwass's own voice.

But Aiwass believed that it was not the real Ai Shiping.

—That must be “nothingness” speaking through the body of the Celestial Chieftain.

[But our poor little snake is unaware that the hope in his eyes and the miracle in his heart are the very 'first cause' that will lead to all destruction.]

The whisper of the void spoke in a sarcastic tone.

The next moment, time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, this thought theater, which had been sealed away by the tainted memories, moved on to the next scene.

(End of this chapter)