My portable grandfather refreshes every week

Xue listened silently behind him, almost without uttering a word.

Chaos didn't force Xue Dalu to answer. She seemed quite used to being with Xue Dalu, even to his inexplicable silences.

“Sure enough, your reaction was just as I expected. You and she are really alike, even identical, in terms of reactions, personality, and even your views on the same things.” Chaos continued, even chuckling, and walked forward. The two seemed to have arrived at the door of a basement.

"So, since I was very young, I've always wondered who that woman was thinking about. She often told me a lot of strange and wonderful things and stories, things that didn't seem to have come from this world or Earth, but she just happened to know them."

"When I ask her the same question, she will definitely fall silent, just like you are now, unable to say anything, until I press her again, and then she might blurt out something like this..."

"If it were Xue's Law, he would definitely do that."

The basement door opened, and Chaos stepped into the darkness, while Xue Lude hesitated at the doorway. Perhaps he realized that he might see Athena inside, or perhaps there were more stories he didn't want to see. After a brief hesitation, he still went in.

Chaos's voice continued to echo in the tunnel, with a soft resonance: "When I was too young, I didn't know how to keep pressing for answers. But as I grew older, I learned how to force out more of the truth."

"So when that woman tried to brush me off with those words again, I blurted out this..."

"Are you staging another 'memoir of your deceased husband'?" Chaos said, even laughing at himself.

Xue Luding was stunned. Perhaps he still didn't feel anything about the past that Chaos was talking about, because to him, the protagonist in Chaos's story seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But strangely, he had a feeling of familiarity.

"Do you know what that woman answered back then?" Chaos asked Xue Law.

Xue Dinglu shook his head.

"She shook her head at that moment." Kausun chuckled immediately, his gaze towards Xue Lude softening, a complex emotion subtly revealed.

"Or perhaps she was annoyed by my reaction, and in the end she just said, 'Because I am just a copy of him, or my mind has been completely distorted by them, that's all.'" Chaos said, seemingly with a tear glistening in the corner of his eye. "I originally thought she was talking about some riddle again, but now, perhaps I've finally realized what she meant."

“Apart from your gender, you two are exactly the same in terms of thinking and habits, like a one-to-one replica. When I see your habits, I can instantly recognize the familiar parts. They are just too familiar.” Chaos smiled wryly and stopped at the end of the corridor.

"We've arrived. This is the last secret of this planet."

She silently pushed open the door, and what Xue Dinglu saw was not a scientific laboratory, nor a magical research institute, but a huge pile of... tree roots?
Yes, it's tree roots. Dense tree roots are everywhere, completely enveloping the room. At the same time, these roots are fully rooted in the ground, as if they want to spread throughout the whole world through this root system.

These massive tree roots immediately reminded Xue Dinglu of something very familiar.

"The Divine Tree?" Xue Dinglu asked immediately.

“Yes, a divine tree, a divine tree that descended upon this planet when I was just a little older, the same divine tree that took everything from me…” Chaos said, walking to the roots of the tree, touching them gently.
"Athena, the person you've been waiting for has come to see you."

"Buzz!"

The tree roots seemed to twitch slightly, and this slight movement caused an earthquake to occur throughout the entire planet. In the city of Osmar, such a massive earthquake seemed to shake the entire city.

However, the people living here don't seem to care, as if they've long been used to such large earthquakes.

But Xue's pupils constricted. Based on Chaos's previous story, combined with the current divine tree and her attitude, Xue immediately understood why Chaos was able to become the 10th Apostle, why the world was the way it was, and why Chaos called this divine tree...

Athena!
"You're right. We were too weak back then. We had no power. Even Athena had no choice but to merge herself into the divine tree in order to completely distort this monster."

"That's exactly what she said at the time..."

"The last thing I can do is to use this vast memory, which includes myself. It is the memory of billions of stars, the memory that completely distorted me from that trashy Greek god into what I am now. And all I can do is to completely implant this memory bomb into this monster's body."

As Chaos spoke, he gently rested his cheek against the roots of the sacred tree.

“If it were Xue’s Law, he would definitely do the same.” Chaos mimicked Athena’s tone and said this again.

In an instant, Xue Dinglu felt his head buzzing. He understood what had happened and why Chaos had always maintained this attitude.

Xue Lude was unaware that Athena's memories had been completely distorted. He only knew that the Great Sage and Athena had discussed something, and it seemed that he had persuaded Athena, which allowed them to form an alliance.

Although they were allies who fought against Zeus back then, unfortunately Xue Dinglu was unaware of such deep inside information. The great sage would not elaborate on such matters, but would simply arrange for Xue Dinglu to be taught how to kill Zeus through "conspiracy and intrigue" in the future.

Only now did he understand why Athena had changed so much, transforming from an ancient Greek madwoman into a completely different person.

It turns out that she had completely experienced all of her memories, and then she was completely twisted into another personality.

Later, when facing this divine tree, she chose to let it devour her. While the tree was devouring her, she transformed that distorted memory into a final soul bomb, pouring it completely into the tree's body to achieve her goal.

Now, this divine tree is another twisted divine tree that has inherited all the memories of Athena and Xue's Law, and can even be called the reincarnation of "Athena".

Xue Luding stared silently at the tree. After understanding his old friend's past, he suddenly turned ashen-faced.

"That's how I am. After this divine tree ate Athena, it took root, blossomed, and bore fruit on the spot, giving birth to the most dazzling fruit. And I am the apostle who was born from eating this fruit."

"The apostle was born from eating this fruit, which was conceived by my 'mother'."

Chaos's words were calm, yet filled with suppressed anger and resentment...

But in the end, she seemed to have let go, or perhaps she simply wanted to ask herself about her final unresolved question. She looked at Xue Dinglu, her slightly glistening eyes meeting his gaze, and at the same time, it seemed as if she were looking through him at everyone else. "If it were you, would you have made the same choice?" This was her final question.

"Probably." Xue finally spoke, but as soon as he uttered those two words, it felt like they were stuck in his throat.

He probably understands now why Chaos brought him here and told him all the stories about this place.

Perhaps after all these years, all she wanted was this answer—an answer to why Athena abandoned her and merged with such a monster.

And now, it's clear that she has received this answer.

If you were facing the arrival of the divine tree and had not killed its power, what would you have chosen?

If it were the old Xue Law, he wouldn't hesitate at all; he would have given it his all, even risking his last life, to try and seize a chance at the Twisted Divine Tree.

This was Xue's choice, and clearly, Athena, whose memory was completely distorted by Xue's memory, made the exact same choice. She also chose the same method, and even used her memory as the biggest soul bomb to completely distort the divine tree.

Even Xue Dinglu never imagined that his own memories could also be used as a weapon to distort the divine tree. When did he become one of those indescribable ancient rulers?
However, after hearing the story of Chaos and Athena, Xue felt very uncomfortable for some reason.

This wasn't the sadness of learning of his old friend's death; he had long been prepared for it, that Athena was already dead. After all, thousands of years had passed, and even the divine beings who came to Eden had experienced the decline of several generations.

Even the moon goddess looked old and frail, as if she couldn't be older and wouldn't live much longer. Athena, who was only a little younger than Zeus, was probably already dead.

But when he actually learned the details of his old friend's death, Xue Dinglu still felt an unprecedented sadness, a kind of unspeakable sadness that was stuck in his heart.

"So, being your daughter is truly tragic. You became a hero, you chose the coolest way to die, but I have to wait here for you for thousands of years, enduring countless years of torment..."

“You’re really selfish, Dad.” Chaos finally uttered this last word, which made Xue’s pupils shrink.

He looked at Chaos, but Chaos was also staring intently at him, her pupils seemingly focused on him, yet also as if looking through him at someone else.

She seemed to have completely transformed herself into Athena's substitute, because Athena completely replicated everything about her, from personality to temperament, and was almost identical to her.

So it's no wonder that Xue Dinglu felt a strange sense of familiarity when he saw her again.

That wasn't the familiar feeling he'd had in the Council of Mist, but a different kind of familiarity—it was that Chaos had always been imitating Athena's temperament, and that temperament and habit were clearly his own...

She was always imitating herself!

At the same time, Xue felt a sharp pain in her brain. She saw the attachment and dissatisfaction in Chaos's eyes, and Chaos's words kept echoing in her mind.

"Being your daughter must be so miserable..."

Xue Dinglu immediately thought of his two daughters at home. Whether it was the silly little dragon girl or the little tree girl who pretended to be a mature adult, would his two daughters have the same feelings?
If something really happens to them, will they end up like Chaos is now?
In an instant, countless complicated thoughts flooded his mind. Xue Luding felt his thoughts suddenly become a mess. He couldn't deceive himself that if he were to die, his family might suffer the same pain as Chaos was now.

The same sadness, the same helplessness and confusion.

Even after wiping away their tears, they might still feel a kind of "resentment" towards themselves.

Xue Dinglu fell silent. He didn't know how to face the current situation, whether it was Chaos, who was treating him as a substitute for Athena, or the possibility that his daughter might face the same fate in the future...

For a moment, he could only stand there, a particularly ugly smile on his face. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were filled with sadness.

He didn't know what to say. Should he offer some nonsensical words of comfort like, "Even if you've lost her, you still have me. I can be your father"? Or should he go up and hug her like a father and give her warmth?

Or perhaps, just watching?

Even though Athena experienced her own memories, she is still herself, and they are completely different people. No matter how similar their habits and personalities may be, they are still completely different individuals.

Even now, Xue Dinglu can clearly feel that he is completely different from himself a year ago after finishing the college entrance examination.

Even one's own thoughts have undergone such a dramatic change, let alone the many different people one later experienced?

Chaos seemed to have anticipated Xue's reaction. Instead of continuing to be sad, she laughed and continued telling the rest of the story.

“Athena seemed to have a lot of knowledge she wanted to teach me, but it all came to nothing. Having obtained this power, I took control of this divine tree, placing this tree, which had merged with that woman's memories, here, and letting it take root throughout the world…”

"It is merely a tool for collecting souls. In this Eden, it is the last pure land, and also the final operating logic of the entire world's mythology."

After hearing all the stories, Xue Dinglu suddenly understood why the world was still so... feudal.

Because Athena died young, she left before she could pass on all her knowledge to Chaos.

This "little girl" had no choice but to inherit her "mother's" strength and has come this far step by step without any guidance from anyone.

Suddenly, a petite body snuggled into Xue Dinglu's arms, as if greedily inhaling his scent.

"This is the last time, let me be willful just this once. I still want to feel that warmth, the warmth of family. This is also the last time I'll call you that, okay?"

"Dad?" (End of Chapter)