Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 465 The Oath of the Bear and the Stars

"Beastly instincts can devour reason."
But it can also be transformed into protective claws.

What determines life and death is not strength.

It's not a choice, but a decision.

—From *The Sacred Forest Fragments: The Oath of the Sage*

The Frost Dragon's breath had just ceased, and the echoes of shattered ice crystals still lingered in the carriage.

However, those blood-red dragon eyes suddenly lit up again. Its massive maw opened wide, frost condensing in its throat, as if the air had been instantly sucked away.

The four survivors all held their breath.

Si Ming silently stroked a deck of cards with his fingertips, his eyes remaining as cold as ever.

The girl with twin ponytails gritted her teeth and cursed angrily:
"Hey, poker kid! What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? This bastard's going to do it again!"

Before they could answer, a deafening roar that tore through the air suddenly rang out.

That wasn't a dragon's roar, but rather—a bear's roar.

The tall man's body rapidly expanded under the raging starlight, his flesh and bones twisting and turning, transforming into a giant bear covered in bone armor.

His lover, the priestess wielding a spear of light, cried out in despair:

"Erwin! Your Star of Reason... is no longer enough!"

The giant bear looked back at her tenderly, its eyes reflecting a holy and unwavering determination.

"Serea... even if there's only one left, I will burn everything for you."

Before the words were finished, the bear shadow soared into the air, clapping its paws with the force of an ancient forest collapsing.

With a loud bang, the giant bear's paw slammed into the frost dragon's mouth.

The breath that was gathering was instantly interrupted.

That chilling light, powerful enough to freeze an entire train, transformed into an out-of-control white torrent, crashing into the void like a meteor streaking across a desolate sea of ​​stars.

The frost dragon raised its head angrily, frost swirling beneath its scales, its pupils fixed on the tiny challenger.

The giant bear, however, revealed a sage-like smile, whispering as if addressing the entire galaxy:
"May the beast that has lost itself rest in the loving embrace of Mother Forest."

The next moment, a domain suddenly unfolded.

The desolate train exterior seemed to be corroded by greenery, with countless tree shadows rising from the ground, and the vines and broken metal transforming into an endless sea of ​​trees.

The vines, like iron chains, suddenly swept towards the giant dragon.

—The black iron train has now transformed into a battlefield between the forest and the dragon.

The image reflected in Erwin's pupils was not that of the roaring frost dragon before him.

What he saw was the peaceful and serene Taron Sacred Grove of twenty years ago.

The air in the sacred forest is as fresh as the first dew. The vast sea of ​​trees is bathed in the morning light.

Several stargazing towers rise from the depths of the forest, built of white stone and inlaid with runes, their spires constantly conversing with the stars.

At that time, Elwin was just a young Archdruid.

He held the newly received tree emblem in his hands, his chest surging with excitement and pride.

He ran through the forest, his footsteps in sync with the roots, until he came to the foot of a tall tower.

Looking up, his voice was like a clear flute melody in the wind:
"Seleya! Serea, look! What's this?!"

A young, innocent human girl peeked out from the window at the top of the tower.

She was Seraya—the stargazing apprentice at the time, who was training under her mentor, Toya Lida.

The girl was surprised at first, then her eyes filled with joy.

She saw Elwin raise the Archdruid's tree emblem, symbolizing the guardian of the forest and the stars.

Seraya's laughter was clear and crisp, like the lightest bell ringing under a sea of ​​stars.

Night slowly fell.

The two strolled through the forest, with Seraya sitting on the back of the giant bear that Elwin had transformed into, softly humming the Song of the Stars.

The singing and the sound of the wind intertwined, and the stars twinkled through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

At the time, they thought this beautiful moment could last forever.

But fate never pities pure dreams.

That same year, in the Stargazing Tower, Seraya's mentor, Toya Lida, put down the astrolabe, her face ashen.

The stars whispered a breathtaking secret:
"The last meteor shower of July will bring alien hosts."

He will enter this world with hunger and madness.

That was the beginning of destruction.

The tranquility of the sacred grove was quietly shattered from that moment on.

The last meteor shower of July was so brilliant it seemed as if the sky was on fire.

But the brightest light in the sky above the Sacred Grove of Taron was not a blessing.

—It fell.

The starlight pierced the night sky and crashed down upon the land where the sacred spring was located.

The earthquake caused the trees to fall, and the entire forest seemed to be torn open in an instant.

From the depths of the rift, an alien host emerged.

He was not human; His outline resembled that of an insect or a pupa, with strangely segmented limbs and a body covered in unfamiliar scales, yet His eyes were cold and ancient.

The high-ranking members of the Holy Forest gathered:

The Great Stargazer Toyalida, the Druid Elders, the Elven Archers, the Forest Guardians...

They used every ritual, arrow, and incantation to try to expel, seal, and kill this alien entity from the stars.

But all resistance was in vain.

The host raised a sharp claw and planted a giant egg above the holy spring.

Those were unprecedented insect eggs, pulsating like a heart, emitting a putrid stench of decay and breeding.

The spring water is gushing.

The sacred spring that once nourished all life has become a hatchery for insect eggs.

Countless spores overflowed from the egg, merged into the spring, and transformed into transparent and ugly worms.

From that night on, the Sacred Grove of Taron fell.

Flames burned in the forest, trees collapsed, and flowers and plants withered.

Elwin witnessed his former druid teacher, elders, and even the forest beasts who had stood alongside him fall one by one.

They did not die, but were penetrated by parasites hatched from the insect eggs.

Their bodies began to swell and decay, branch-like shells sprouted from their skin, their eyes rolled back, and they roared as they pounced on their own kind.

Half-insect, half-beast monsters roam the sea of ​​fire, hunting, infecting, and reproducing.

The Sacred Grove of Tarron is no longer a lush, green mother, but a breeding ground for evil insects.

Erwin knelt between the firelight and the putrid liquid, almost in despair.

He saw his kind being devoured, and the cradle of life turned into a den of despair.

But at that moment, Seraya reached out her hand. Her eyes held no tears, only a resolute light:

"Erwin, only those above the Starscramble can fight against those above the Starscramble."

"We cannot give up hope. We cannot hand over this world to these monsters."

These words were like a ray of light, shining into Erwin's heart.

He helped Seraya to her feet and led her toward the forbidden area of ​​the Druid Council.

It was a stone chamber formed by the intertwined roots of ancient oak trees, sealing away the most dangerous scriptures.

Erwin lit a campfire, and in the firelight, he turned the pages of ancient leather scrolls.

The text describes a bloody route:

—The Flesh and Blood Puppet Master.

"Only by embracing the Cataclysm can we fight the Cataclysm with the Cataclysm."

He slowly closed the book.

At that moment, Erwin had already chosen his path.

That was the last hope in despair.

The bonfire roared, its light illuminating the blood-stained earth.

Under Seria's gaze, Erwin pressed his palms into the blood and mud, chanting ancient druidic incantations in a low voice.

The forest responded to him.

Broken tree roots emerged from the ground, intertwining into the shape of runes; the dead alien insect bodies trembled and reformed in his whispers, transforming into flesh and blood puppets.

They have carapaces on their backs, wield bone blades, and have empty eyes, yet they quietly await their master's commands.

"rise."

Erwin's voice was deep, yet booming.

In the next instant, countless puppets roared into action, fighting alongside the surviving human warriors and elven archers.

Clad in the shells of puppets and wielding their claws, they transformed into a new legion and charged towards the insect swarm.

The tide of battle turned.

At the same moment, Seraya stood atop the ruins of the tower.

The Great Stargazer Toyalida poured her last life into her body, and then vanished like starlight.

With tears in her eyes, Seraya raised her arms—and the stars fell with her.

The observatory collapsed, streaks of fire ripped through the night sky, and meteors rained down on the insect swarm and alien hosts.

"This is the power of the Meteor Priest."

Two stars shining brightly.

The flesh puppeteer and the meteor priest finally led the remaining members of their race to completely annihilate the terrifying alien host.

The insect eggs shattered, the worms howled, and the sacred forest returned to silence overnight.

People cheered, celebrating this hard-won victory.

Erwin walked alone to the holy spring.

He bent down and scooped up a handful of spring water.

The spring water is clear, but it has lost its former vibrancy.

There is no longer any surging vitality, no longer any new life being conceived.

Erwin's fingertips trembled.

He understood—the Sacred Grove of Tarron would never again see the birth of new elves or humans.

Their generation will be the last.

Seraya walked over silently and took his trembling hand in hers.

She gazed up at the night sky, the stars twinkling in her eyes, and the power of the Meteor Priest allowed her to read the future:
"Only in the end is there a possibility of reversal."

Erwin looked at her, the sadness in his eyes replaced by a fiery determination.

"A beast that has lost its mind deserves to rest in peace."

"And we—will bring back the way to revive the sacred forest. At all costs."

The two held hands tightly, with the ruined forest and the embers of a crowd behind them.

They embarked on a journey, carrying the hope of a world, toward the tower called "The End".

Erwin's form had completely transformed into a beast, with white bone spikes covering his back, massive claws like mountains, and his roar shook the metal carriage.

Beside him, two flesh puppets roared. They were pieced together from the remains of alien insects, their bone blades and carapaces gleaming coldly. With the blessing of the forest domain, they were as agile as real beasts.

"superior--!"

The giant bear roared, and vines grew from the void, coiling around the vehicle and creating a path for the puppets to climb. Like cheetahs, they circled between the dragon's scales, tearing and biting wildly.

Elwin leaped to his feet, his bear paw slamming heavily onto the frost dragon's neck, shattering the frost mist.

"Serena!"

The response was a fall from the sky.

Seraya opened her arms, and the phantom of the observatory slowly emerged behind her, with stars rotating on it like a giant star disk.

She chanted ancient celestial language, and a meteor streaked across the dark universe, crashing down and striking the dragon's back armor, scattering scales everywhere.

"Meteor Shower—!"

The continuous falling sparks, like the beating of war drums, combined with the roars of the flesh golems and the lashing of the vines, temporarily suppressed the frost dragon's offensive.

She looked up and coldly glanced at the two people still watching in the distance.

"You two who're just watching! We've already used the power of the Star Calamity, why aren't you making a move? Do you want to die here together?!"

Si Ming and the girl with twin ponytails stared at each other.

The girl licked the lollipop and gave a strange smile.

Si Ming merely sighed softly, shook his head, and gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"Alright, alright... I can't escape this life of toil."

He stretched out his hand.

A heavy book appeared out of nowhere, its spine covered with false symbols—the Book of Lies.

Si Ming slowly turned the pages of the book with his fingertips, his eyes reflecting blurry illusions.

Finally, he stopped and said softly:

“Usum... well, I've decided on you.”

The frost dragon roared, and frost mist covered the starry sky.

The four celestial calamities resonated simultaneously, and the killing train seemed to transform into a stage for a theatrical performance, with the next act about to begin.

When the four stars burn together,
The train is no longer the way home.
Rather, it is a testing ground for gods and mortals.

—From "The End Traveler: Fragments"

(End of this chapter)