He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 63 The future...?

"I come from the depths."

"They say I am the child of the lamb."

Anda chuckled softly.

Otherwise, how could a young girl suddenly appear in the deepest part of the wilderness—as if she came here from the source of a great river, enveloped in honey?

she says:

—My hair is as warm and white as cashmere.

—The sheep has no horns, and I am harmless.

—I will always remain silent and endure.

—I never resist. Whenever I feel pain, I curl up and shrink into a deserted corner until I have nowhere left to retreat.

—I don't like to talk, and even when I do, my voice is so soft it's as if it could be blown away by a breeze—but only with such a voice can I avoid disturbing those equally timid lambs.

"So I became a shepherd."

The afternoon sun blazed fiercely as Anda walked on the sunlit earth, her long, grass-colored robe fluttering in the breeze behind her.

"I really enjoy this job."

Anda said.

"I'm also very good at it."

—I might prefer talking to sheep than to humans—I love their softness, their harmlessness, their timid appearance, and their eternal whiteness as they roam the earth.

—What a beautiful and lovable creature!

If the gods truly possess such a Book of Life—then I think the name of the lamb must be the purest.

I love them—just as I see myself, and I hope someone will love me as much as they love sheep.

"I chase after that pure white, just like chasing after the illusory love in my eyes, that light I've never seen before, perhaps it's the warmth I can only feel from the person embracing me—whether it's cold or warm. Whatever it is, I want to drown myself in it, just like drowning in darkness and death, and never come out again."

Anda's figure disappeared into the grass, only a continuous stream of soft whispers could be heard—

She said, "But I hate them."

Is that strange?

—When the sheep is oppressed, it suffers in silence until it is slaughtered.

—When the lamb was led to the slaughter, I covered my ears.

—When unspoken silence accompanies me.

Anda put her hands behind her back and leaned her body slightly.

She turned her head, squinted, and looked at Rhodes and the girl on his shoulder, her golden-red pupils a color more vibrant than blood and light.

—I hate all the lambs, all the silent ones.

She said, "It's like hating myself."

Ai listened silently to all of this, as if it were an echo coming from the back of a life—the voices that made up Anda, those filled with contradictions, softness, lightness, hardness, and heaviness—infinitely complex things.

"Your life is too short."

Then he sighed softly, "You chose to fill everything with that hopeless ending, but if I told you—I could take you away right now, you wouldn't have to face those filthy things—"

"Adults can handle everything."

Ai stared directly at the blazing sun, his eyes half-closed. He didn't know what he was really thinking at that moment, but he simply offered the girl another option out of some kind of inertia: "To Agdewey, both I and the Anti-Suppression Bureau are extraordinary deus ex machina—as long as you speak, I will take you outside. You can rest assured that supporting a little girl like you is not a problem for me—"

He blinked, then felt inexplicably irritated.

Sometimes, certain impulses can even override reason: the soul that is currently dwelling in this illusion, under the dual influence of a sense of justice and empathy, has almost forgotten that this is a "preordained echo".

The fox was already itching to flip the table.

Anda remained calm, simply pointing upwards.

"Look, there—"

Ai squinted. He saw distant mountains and towering peaks, a range of peaks stretching from the upper reaches of the Yi River—"Flying Bird Gorge, also known as the Trial Grounds."

Anda said softly, "The content of the Bird Trial is to leap down between mountain gorges and then rely on one's own wings to soar in the sky and at the end of the mountain range. Just like some fledglings learning to fly for the first time, they need to fall from a high place before they are proficient in controlling their wings, flapping their still tender wings, and learn the principles of flight in the crisis of life and death."

She pointed to the ground beneath her feet, where the cave they had just been in was.

"The place we just went to is right below Asuka Gorge — if you're willing to wander around, you might easily come across bones and remains buried in the soil."

She smiled, but it was full of sorrow.

—Occasionally, you'll see dying birds fall to the ground.

—But it also once soared high—

—I thought I was just an observer.

—Until I felt such a real touch.

Anda hugged herself with her arms and said softly.

"Destiny is like honey, and what exists within honey will forever remain frozen in the moment before it solidifies—if I back down now, my ugly appearance—will also be forever etched in Lily's memory."

"I must fly, because the wings growing on my back do not belong to me. Whether it is an obsession or stubbornness, some things have survived to this day and are already more important than life itself."

—If I continue to be cowardly, I will not be qualified to witness her again.

"Anda died a day ago."

She stared into the void, her gaze never focusing on anything, just an empty expanse. "Rhodes, do you want to kill Anda now too?"

"...

'

Ai Yi was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "I never thought I would be forced into this situation."

She's going to prove something with her beliefs, and stopping her now would be the most heinous form of murder.

—Should I forcibly pull Anda away from her destiny, or witness her sink into it? How should I choose?

Ai Yi had a bit of a headache, and at that moment, a light, floating body silently leaned against his back, two thin arms trying to wrap around his back and hug him.

"You can have a little more faith in me."

However, due to Rhodes's physical limitations, Anda still failed. But the girl wasn't too discouraged. She simply leaned closer to the big man's face and whispered in his ear, "What Anda has tried for a very long time may not necessarily fail—Lily taught me the principles of flight that are more profound than those of the villagers. Her wings grew behind me, more complete than anyone else's before—"

The girl's voice was infinitely firm: "Who says my end must be death?"

Just as she finished speaking, birdsong suddenly rang out from the edge of the wilderness.

Euuu

'

"The time is almost up—"

Ai and Anda looked up at the same time; the former was expressionless, while the latter was genuinely laughing.

—The time is almost here—Abram has delayed for far too long—his return is no secret, so Charon will know sooner or later that the letter that will inevitably be sent—the Expeditionary Force is on its way, so—what he has to do is the same as the faith that this village has upheld for hundreds of years.

He also wanted to try to complete this trial of the birds, a trial whose outcome was unknown.

After all this, will Agdeweg redeem the true favor from God from the heavens? And what form will this favor take?

No one knows.

But everyone chased after it like moths to a flame.

This is the power of faith.

Whether in primitive society or modern society —

—This is the great power called "worship," which brings people upward from their desires.

Ai had already stood up, but Anda was one step ahead of him. "Let's make a promise—"

She loosened her arms from around Ai, her playful tone finally befitting a girl her age: "If I survive the trial, even if you change your mind, you won't be allowed to abandon me!"

She smiled: "I want you to take me away, take me away from this place—we'll be companions, going to live in another world—if possible, I can stay with you until the end of my life—if I can live a few more years, we'll travel to every corner of Ys together, you'll take me on trains, on flying vehicles..."

Number----"

"However—before this wing is completely removed without leaving any aftereffects, I don't want anyone else to suffer the pain of the Agdeum, so—"

Anda's voice trailed off again as she spoke the next sentence.

"No—you can't have children."

Ai nodded silently—no, she shook her head!

"What on earth is going on in your head, you little rascal?!"

"Thank you----"

Anda didn't give Ai Yi another chance to say a word.

She turned around and took light, breezy steps.

—The time is almost here, let's embark on a great new life!

—You, the chosen one of the gods, the offspring of the Lord!

—Look, that swaying world bears the weight of the sky.

—Look at the earth and the sea and the vast sky, see how all things sing for the years to come—

—I wish the end of my life could be prolonged—

—Whether it is through salvation or through witnessing.

"By the Lord's blessing."

The girl sang joyfully as she ran towards the sky.

"I will embrace the future under the bright sunshine!"

I didn't follow up immediately.

Ai stood alone for a few minutes, then sat back down in a daze. He remained silent for a moment, then gently closed the book "The Story of the Sky," which only had a few pages left.

He squinted and sighed softly.

The penultimate volume records the origin of this world.

"The world is inherently loose, fragile, and riddled with holes: spirituality, matter, time—the entire old world dissolves in the pool of liquid—the red liquid was once considered filthy, the red pool was once considered eternal nothingness."

"Until the covenant of the original four—"

Ai recalled the contents of her memory: "The master of 'Qiong' was the first winged being, and one of the four oldest beings. He was the wind, the vortex, the clouds, and the echoes—his image was that of a giant bird whose wings, with a slight spread, were enough to envelop all things. His wings were the membrane of the world, the sky itself, and the boundless expanse aligned with the earth."

The progenitor of birds formulated and participated in that "sacred covenant."

"After that, the wind and light, which reside 'above,' and the honey and wood, which reside 'below,' respectively solidified the 'above' and 'below,' thus laying the foundation for the new world—redeeming 'materialism' from the murky pool. This was the first era after 'dissolution,' the era of life." —The Story of the Sky: Creation

"Tsk—"

Ai covered his head; his muddled thoughts made it almost impossible for him to think about such a vast concept as "the world," and reading had become a challenge.

—There are only a few pages left—I should have enough time to finish reading them.

Right now, Anda's side is more important.

After thinking for a moment, he tossed the book into his satchel, hoisted the silent, withdrawn little girl on his shoulder, and followed her at a distance.

Asuka Gorge, a place for trials.

The gaunt human figure stood like a ghost on the edge of the cliff—this extremely steep mountain peak had no solid structure for support, and was an enclave in the center of the rocks. Ordinary people would feel heartbroken even if they just looked at it from a distance, let alone stood here.

"Your Majesty Charon."

The bone eagle with bony wings on its back whispered beside Charon, "The song of the birds has begun—it is time."

His eyes held a fanaticism—this bone sculpture, judging from its appearance, was already an adult. Clearly, it was an "upgraded one," a foundation built by the Archbishop by harvesting those winged beings who had no use for him.

Such a bone carving would never know that its lifespan is already as short as a candle in the wind. It is still enjoying its increasingly sublime physique. It has become so thin that it is no longer human. It is as light as a handful of broken bird bones.

But even knowing the consequences of facing death, he might become even more determined. Perhaps the Agdewe people despise forms that can stand firmly on the ground, so death can also be a form of ascension.

Charon was much "smarter" than these people.

He was very old—because he had been a wingless being for a very long time. He maintained a healthy posture, watching over batches of "short-lived ghosts," imparting the Lord's teachings to them, and then giving them new life.

Charon originally wanted to wait a little longer.

The second "baby bird," the one named Lily—she was close enough to be a real bird, but still a little bit short.

If she were to further integrate with the bloodline of the Gern family—as a family that has given birth to two chicks, the union of Lily and little Gern would certainly be the best choice for their bloodline.

Thinking of this, Charon felt a surge of anger.

Damn it—damn it!

That damned old Gern, that traitor who betrayed the High Priest's teachings—he should have been killed in the first place, instead of being allowed to pass on the demonic language from the outside to his children—

Charon glanced at Abram standing to the side, his eyes flashing with hostility.

Little Gern, that bastard dared to come back even though he had clearly escaped. If it weren't for him, we might have had even more time—

As for his sister.

Lily—clearly the fledgling closest to God, yet she was indoctrinated with those filthy thoughts, to the point that only forceful methods could be used to compel her to bear children. "Tsk."

As a result, the third-generation "baby" that was supposed to achieve its own bird form was a stillborn!

Charon took a deep breath.

He recalled the shepherdess emerging from the delivery room with her hands covered in blood, holding the baby high in her arms, and joyfully announcing that the village had welcomed another new trial participant. But when he walked forward with great joy, he saw a dead infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.

As a result, little Gern escaped, and Lily could not survive until the birth of her next child.

She even rebelliously cut off her own wings in order to live longer.

"snort----"

The old pastor gave a cold laugh.

There's no other way but to use what's readily available.

Charon gently flapped the pair of wings behind him, revealing a faint golden-red hue. These wings, which came from Lily, were a piece of wing bone forcibly torn from flesh and blood. Although they were broken and damaged when they were first removed, once they took root on his back, they quickly absorbed and chewed on the flesh and blood of this body to grow—until they were whole again.

Having endured so many years, he finally received a belated promotion.

Charon stroked his sharp, thorn-like bones and gave a hideous, disgusting smile.

This is the favor of God.

He thought to himself.

As the time for birds to fly drew ever closer, I grew thinner and thinner, my skin withered like old tree bark, my bones became hollow and light, and my eyes lost the dullness of the wingless, becoming as bright as those of birds.

"Abram—do you think I will succeed?"

He walked slowly to the young man's side and asked him this question. Although he was asking a question, his condescending look made it seem as if he already knew the answer.

Abram chuckled, then spread his hands and said, "I curse your shoulder blades to grow like wings."

His gaze was as if he were looking at a dead man.

"I curse your skin to be covered in feathers."

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