"And this is the Boundless Ocean."
After Alka finished speaking, he closed his mouth and looked at the illusory dragon figure on the throne.
"So this is what the outside world has become like?"
The dragon figure on the throne said with a slight sigh.
"So there are so many selfish abandoners and betrayers."
"What a glorious era it was when I lived! Across the starry sky and myriad realms, our world is also the pinnacle of existence.
The Mother of the World nurtures all things, so generous."
"These traitors who betrayed the Mother Goddess destroyed the world in their selfishness. Instead of dreaming of redress, they took the opportunity to leave."
As he spoke, the dragon figure shook his head.
Even though it was an illusory shadow, everyone could clearly sense its anger, its unwillingness, and its helplessness.
"Can you tell us why the war between the gods has reached such a fierce level?" Lucilia asked directly from Alka's shoulder.
"Of course," the Dragon King said bluntly.
"We have existed in this world for millions of years. Immortal, indestructible, and unforgettable. Yet, like those mortals, such long-lasting clashes have left us unable to suppress our anger and extinguish our hatred."
Hearing this, Alka and the others understood roughly what they had already understood. It was very similar to what they had previously understood.
But his words only further reassured Alka and the others that their previous understanding was correct.
Just as they had assumed, the gods had existed for too long.
It was also clear that these gods were not heartless beings at all; they possessed emotions just like ordinary mortals.
Where emotions exist, there are clashes.
Hate naturally arises, and the growth of hatred will only lead to more hatred, which in turn will clash with each other.
Here lies the problem: these gods are too powerful, their power coming directly from the world, from the world's generous sharing.
When hatred reaches a point of utter irreconcilability, clashes occur.
The collision of these massive forces destroyed the entire world bit by bit.
At this moment, Julia frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "The gods' power comes from the world, so why doesn't the world withdraw it now?"
Wouldn't that have prevented the problem?
The Dragon King raised his head slightly, as if reminiscing.
He said, "A million years ago, there was a war just like the one ten thousand years ago.
When the fierce clash of war became inevitable, all living things were devastated, and the World Mother punished them all."
"For tens of thousands of years thereafter, all gods became mortals, walking on their own two legs."
In other words, the world did indeed withdraw its power during that era.
"And ten thousand years ago, everything was caused by him."
As he spoke, the illusory dragon raised its claws and waved them. Dots of crystal light gathered in the air, then transformed into four spheres of different colors, rotating around each other.
"Four, mortals who ascended to godhood millions of years ago, eternally thirsting for the world's knowledge and secrets."
"He was also the most powerful of the mortals who reached the pinnacle a million years ago, ultimately surpassing even me. He achieved the pinnacle."
"He is obsessed with knowledge and secrets. No one knows how far his knowledge reaches, or how deeply his secrets are hidden."
With another wave of his hand, the four rotating spheres split into pairs.
"Among his knowledge lies a most secret one, one he has sealed away for eternity.
It is to completely devour the power bestowed upon him by the world."
A twinkling star was enveloped in darkness and then vanished, symbolizing the hidden knowledge.
"He knew full well that such knowledge, if disseminated, would bring about catastrophic disasters, so he buried it forever.
As it should have been, until something went wrong himself."
The two groups of spheres began to collide. "His secrets stole his knowledge and spread the message of this most important knowledge."
At this point, the Dragon King raised his head slightly and looked at the crystal carvings on the ceiling.
"The gods who experienced the Fallen Age desperately longed for such knowledge, and the earliest wars broke out.
The first to master this knowledge was War. He needed the raging flames of war to perfectly devour War, becoming War itself, and no being could ever deprive him of it."
"Not even Mother."
With these words, the four spheres dissipated, condensing into a tall and mighty humanoid figure.
In his hand, he wielded an exaggeratedly massive sword blade, bound to the back by a long chain that bound his torso.
In his other hand, he held an exaggeratedly large axe.
The figure roared angrily, and flames of rage burned around him, and then the flames of war engulfed him.
In a burst of fire, the figure vanished.
"This secret knowledge has been disseminated, and the disaster is unstoppable."
Then the spheres split into two groups, and the two spheres began to collide.
"The four spheres are aware of their own problems. If they don't resolve their own problems, more secret knowledge that will exacerbate the disaster will be secretly spread."
"He... destroyed himself."
The two spheres collided with each other, and then all four spheres disintegrated in an instant.
"He dispersed the knowledge to all mortal life."
The two spheres that collided disintegrated into tiny specks of starlight, spreading among all life.
"This knowledge will become the final possibility."
Then the other two spheres, likely representing the secret, shattered by an illusory hand and thrown away.
"The secrets were cast out, buried, and destroyed.
No longer can any being glimpse the deepest secrets. Secrets remain secrets."
With these words, the Dragon King waved away the illusion and returned to his throne.
Everyone stood beneath the throne, reminiscing about the story told by this being who had personally experienced everything in that era.
The story felt so unreal.
So, when the war attacked the city-state of Vastva, did it take place after or before the Quarter-Destruction?
However, considering that it was only a few thousand years before the final destruction of the world, it was probably after the Quarter-Destruction.
After all, the records of the city-state of Vastva clearly show that they did not receive enlightenment from the gods until the very end.
Perhaps the war was intended to gain more knowledge from these believers.
"Is there any hope for the world's recovery?" Julia murmured to herself.
After all, the gods who left must have devoured part of the world.
Otherwise, how could they have left peacefully?
"We failed, but that doesn't mean we didn't accomplish anything."
With this, the Dragon King waved his hand again, and more phantoms appeared.
They saw figures of various races: dragons, giants, monsters, and humans.
They battled various natural disasters and enormous creatures.
Some perished, others were destroyed.
After the death of these massive natural disasters and creatures, the shattered light returned to the world.
"This must be the treasure you're talking about. We allowed it to return to the world in an attempt to slow its decline."
"Until the uninvited guest arrived."
With this, the Dragon King waved his hand again. Creatures resembling demons or devils began to move.
Like sharks smelling blood, they swarmed over.
Alka and the others couldn't understand what the actions on the screen represented, but these disgusting creatures had definitely done something.
Then, the object representing the world shattered in a massive explosion.
"These damned demons destroyed the foundation of the world, shattering it into pieces. Countless opportunities existed to stop them, but those damned traitors ignored them.
They seized this opportunity and are still devouring parts of the world."
"I, too, perished in this battle," the Dragon King said.
"So what is your current existence..." Alka couldn't help but ask.
Is it a part of the soul? Or something else?
"It's memories, the memories of me that remain on this throne."
Memories? A completely different realm.
"Then..." The crowd wanted to ask more, but the Dragon King waved his hand gently, and their mouths clamped shut, mute.
Then, with a single wave, he flung everyone out.
The Dragon King curled up on his throne, eyes closed, seemingly resting.
Everyone was flung out of the hall, but instead of flying away, a strange force lifted them to the top of the castle.
Then they landed through the damaged part of a spire.
"What are they playing?"
"Let's see who can fly most accurately into the hole."
Several puppet girls from the ruins of other spire towers observed the scene.
Alka and the others fell directly through the gap in the spire, landing in a massive building.
This building was probably at the back of the hall.
After landing, the strange force that had been lifting them dissipated, and they crashed to the ground.
Rubbing their bodies, everyone stood up and looked around.
"Oh my god..." Lucelia stared at the scene, completely stunned.
The scene here was even more shocking than what she had just seen in the hall.
This area was comparable in size to the hall, yet it was crammed to the brim.
Bookshelves covered the entire wall, and countless more floated in the sky.
In the center, a pillar of light emanated, upon which floated various stone slabs.
Scrolls, books, crystals containing records, carved stone slabs, even ancient tree bark—all manner of knowledge were stored here.
At the very top, a massive book, as vast as a wall, lay open.
With the arrival of the crowd, the book began to silently flip through the pages.
With a rustling sound, the various bookcases and shelves began to move, slowly shifting.
The people, trapped in their places, seemed to feel free to move. "So he dumped us here, telling us to find it on our own? Don't ask him anymore?" Pororo asked, surveying the surroundings.
"I don't know. After all, he said his body is made of memories. Perhaps he doesn't have as much power as we thought."
Alka said nonchalantly, staring intently at the magnificent library.
How terrifying must the knowledge recorded here be?
Honestly, he couldn't even begin to imagine it.
"As expected of a scholar and recorder of the dragon clan," Lucilia muttered to herself.
The books here are truly unprecedented for Alka and his companions, and they could never finish reading them all.
"I wonder how long Urulius and the others' trial will take," Sofia said.
Hearing this, Alka couldn't help but say, "Honestly, I'm actually hoping they'll... take it a little slower."
The others nodded in agreement.
If this place closed down or collapsed after they finished, it would be heartbreaking.
"I could stay here forever," Lucilia said.
But just as she finished, she slapped her head and said, "No, I've already spent my whole life in places like this. I take that back."
She couldn't help but think of the events before her death.
"With so many books, how can we find the information we need? We can't just browse randomly. Just reading the titles and descriptions would probably take a month or even years."
The sheer volume of books here made Juanlu exclaim.
"Let's split up and explore. This place is a bit too big."
Alka said, heading in one direction, and the others followed suit.
This place also had a zero-gravity environment that allowed for levitation. With a simple hop, one could leap upwards to reach books higher up.
Arka arrived at the center, where the pillar of light lay.
Floating at the top was the enormous book that had just rustled.
Below, within the pillar of light, drifted stone slabs.
On the slabs were engraved some mysterious, incomprehensible text, a certain kind of knowledge.
Arka narrowed his eyes slightly, then immediately closed them.
His eyes were already sore from the mere sight; it was clear he shouldn't delve too deeply into the secrets of this place.
Although he couldn't see the words on the slabs, Arka lightly jumped to the giant book floating above.
He examined the windless, automatic book. It contained a table of contents.
And it wasn't just text, but maps and illustrations.
The book seemed to have no first or last page, and it just kept turning.
Arka could sense an emotional connection probing, as if questioning.
After a moment's thought, Alka connected.
The book began to stir, and a line of text appeared.
"The Four-Divided God"
The title suggested it might be about the story of the Four-Divided God, or perhaps a historical record.
Exactly what Alka wanted to read.
Then the book swirled again, transforming into a hollow map.
One of the bookshelves swayed slightly. Based on the direction indicated on the map, Alka knew it was at the top, at twelve o'clock.
Quickly turning back to the crowd watching, he said, "Come to this giant book and connect to its detection link. It will help you find the book you seek."
With that, without waiting for anyone, a subtle burst of magic power erupted.
Propelling Alka in the direction he had indicated.
Although there were many floating bookshelves, Alka could clearly locate the one that had just appeared.
It landed in front of the bookshelf.
There was a plaque at the top of the entire bookshelf.
Written on it in the language of the White Crocodile was the following: "When Darkness Fell - The First Ascended to the Gods."
This bookcase should record the era millions of years ago when the Dragon King had just mentioned, when the gods fell to mortal form.
This should record the first group of people who ascended to the gods.
Alka looked at the books before him.
He couldn't understand all the languages; to be honest, he didn't recognize more than half.
Of the remaining half he could understand, 80% were in the language of the White Crocodile.
He was now incredibly grateful that he had learned this language.
The rest he could understand was mostly written in the language of the Four Gods.
Although some of the characters seemed to have been altered, they were likely derived from this language.
Ancient language.
In other words, the languages used in the regions governed by the four gods were likely the same as those used by their ancestors, though slightly altered and simplified by long use.
Alka, who could understand, discovered several books that might interest him.
"Alked, the Journey of Usurpation."
"Split in Two." "Short Stories of Desire."
"Mother of Stone, Oliruspin, the Barefoot Virgin of Wheat Ears."
And the book he had just wanted to read, "The Divided God."
After taking out the book, Alka didn't open it immediately. Instead, he reached over and took a book with a long title.
Alka thought it might be about the Virgin.
For the time being, he was more interested in this book than the one he had just wanted.
The book depicted a graceful, barefoot woman of ordinary appearance walking among wheat ears.
This was basically certain.
Alka flipped it open and glanced through it.
As expected.
It described the deeds of the Holy Mother during that era.
She must have been one of the first to return to the Gods after her fall.