The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

Pure white wings appeared behind him, embracing him as if in a hug, and from the wings came Athena's final blessing.

"Son of man, you are the one who sees through the gods!"

The spear of blood transformed into a streak of light, facing Zeus directly.

At this moment, Zeus recalled the rebellion against Cronus thousands of years ago. The memory froze, and Zeus realized with horror that the one who truly killed him was not those mortal heroes, not his children and brothers and sisters, and certainly not this hero, Xerides!

What truly killed me was that younger, spirited version of myself!

The spear He hurled at Cronus in His youth struck Himself thousands of years later.

The spear pierced Zeus, crossed the distance between the underworld and the human world, penetrated the planet's atmosphere, and flew like a meteor into the unknown depths of the universe.

On August 25, 1208 BC, Zeus, the king of the gods, was confirmed dead.

……

In the space of consciousness, it seemed as if he had returned to that cliff. This time, Xue Dinglu walked forward and saw the Great Sage again.

“Old man…” Xue Dinglu murmured slowly.

"You've grown up," the great sage said with satisfaction, as blood swirled in his hand, producing a single drop.

"Don't be sad. The great sage Joshua died long ago. Only a ghost survives to carry on his legacy to his successors."

"This is my last gift to you. I've added an 'overclocking module' and a 'storage module' to this device. The overclocking module will allow your consciousness to think dozens of times faster in a short period of time, just like the special training that old undead gave you before."

"As for the storage module, I put all my knowledge into it. Once the level is reached, the corresponding knowledge will be automatically unlocked."

The great sage Tao Tao spoke incessantly, as if he were making his final arrangements, or perhaps paving the way for Xue's final path.

"Why did the world choose me?" Xue's Law asked.

The great sage fell silent for a long time before sighing, "Perhaps the world will choose the one most likely to succeed. You have done well, but I have failed the world's expectations."

The old man seemed to be reminiscing. Xue Dinglu saw the image of the little mage who was so familiar in the great sage's memory. He received the world's protection and distress signal, but he failed.

The swarm escaped the magic circle, unleashing a plague that swept across the entire planet.

Finally, it was the same scene that had been repeated dozens of times: the little mage and the short-haired girl fleeing their home planet, but in the end only the little mage made it out.

"As for the source of my power, it's because I am the last 'demon' in the universe," the Great Sage said, placing his hand on Xue's shoulder.

“My race, known as ‘Demons,’ were born magical spirits. Of course, that’s all in the past. Since the destruction of my home planet, I have been shouldering the souls of billions of my fellow beings.”

"This is my source of power, and also my curse."

"And now, the last demon in the universe has died, and his curse has been lifted."

The old man's words silenced Xue Lude. He suddenly realized why that scene had been his lifelong nightmare: the Great Sage, like Xue Lude, had also become a guardian of the world, but he hadn't completed his mission; instead, he had fled...

Therefore, the little mage died that summer.

"By the way, those people who saved me, they call themselves the 'Starship Squadron.' If you are lucky enough to meet them, just tell them that I am completely dead and that they don't need to contact me anymore."

"I'm sorry, child, I've been rambling on. I see that in your future, you will meet many companions, each with their own thoughts and purposes."

"But everyone you meet dies with the most fervent dream in their heart."

"Thank you for being willing to walk the path I have arranged for you."

Xue Lu looked at the Great Sage, who was now so transparent that he was almost invisible, leaving only a blurry image.

"Old man, will we ever meet again?" Xue Dinglu asked.

"This is as far as I can go. From this day forward, the future is yours," the great sage said with a smile.

"Goodbye... no, farewell forever, my most prized student."

Xue Dinglu took the cursed blood, stepped over Joshua's body, and walked forward.

The great sage smiled, as if the transmission of knowledge was complete, and walked away with his back to Xue Lude.

With each step he takes, his body becomes a little younger.

His gray beard disappeared, his white robe transformed into a little mage's robe, and his strong muscles turned back into a thin body.

When the final step was taken, the Great Sage completely transformed into a thirteen or fourteen-year-old bespectacled little mage.

He pushed open the door and saw a short-haired girl waving at him with food outside, just like in the summers of his youth.

"I'm here!" The little mage waved his arms at the girl, just as he had done two hundred years ago.

He walked up and took the short-haired girl's hand. The two walked further and further away, and the summer gradually disappeared. The flames burned them to ashes, and they turned into specks of light, disappearing in that summer more than two hundred years ago.

On August 25, 1208 BC, the last demon was confirmed dead.

Chapter 65 Postscript to Greece

"The method of transforming from a living god into a god of faith involves losing one's physical form, but can one achieve immortality on the level of spiritual faith...?" Athena looked at the solution offered by the great sage.

Become a god of faith and pass through the twilight of the gods.

"So, my friends," Athena asked, looking at the gods, "would you rather become immortal gods, or die in Ragnarok as you are now?"

"You are all welcome to test the sharpness of my sword. I have finished speaking. Who agrees and who disagrees?"

On the same day, Olympus began a great reshuffle, which seemed to be a war of the gods, or perhaps Ragnarok.

……

On August 25, 1208 BC, Zeus, the king of the gods, was confirmed dead.

On that day, countless people saw a shooting star flying backwards tear through the false sky, all the way to the end of the world.

On that day, the plague, war, famine, and death that had plagued the land of Greece vanished, and the survivors knelt on the ground, thanking the gods for their mercy.

On that day, the gods also disappeared from people's sight. No fourth generation of god-king appeared. It is said that under coercion, all the gods turned into faith and scattered all over the world, thus ending the age of gods.

Some say that the heroes of the Skybreaker killed Zeus, but also died far from home.

Some say that infighting among the gods led to their disappearance.

There are many rumors, but life goes on as usual.

People were unaware of this and erected statues of the gods, but from then on, there were no more miracles or divine punishments.

The world is back on track.

On Alipotripa Island, at the entrance to the underworld.

Achilles struggled to get off the rock wall, his grey eyes scanning his surroundings.

There were no corpses, no wreckage of the Sky Thunder, only a deathly silence.

He walked blankly toward the cave entrance. Zeus's attack had not killed him, because he was immortal, but even so, he was now like a walking corpse, stumbling and staggering.

"Achilles..." A familiar voice rang in my ears.

Achilles' pupils instantly regained their luster, and he looked in the direction of the sound. It was Odysseus in the River Styx, the hero known for his wisdom, who was now soaking in the river, carrying a wooden box.

"Odysseus! You're alright, you're alive! That's wonderful! That's wonderful!" He covered his face and wept, scrambling to get to his dearest friend.

"And the others? Is anyone else still alive?" His joy and tears mingled with the soil as he stumbled along, seemingly desperate for good news from his dearest friend—the good news that Sildenas and Hector were still alive…

"Don't come any closer, Achilles," Odysseus's voice rang out, and Achilles stopped abruptly, frozen in place.

“Everyone is dead, including Odysseus. What remains here is merely the remnant soul of that so-called ‘Odysseus’,” he said, pushing the wooden box he was carrying onto the shore, right next to Achilles.

"These are our final testaments, Achilles. Take these testaments, take our last souls, and guide them home..." Odysseus had already slowly sunk into the River Styx.

"This is the last story of ancient Greece, and the last epic..."

Achilles froze, staring at the wooden box at his feet filled with their last words, then looked deathly toward the River Styx.

The remnant souls in the River Styx still uttered their unwilling cries, but now he could hear nothing. He picked up the wooden box and, like a rusty spring, mechanically moved forward.

Before the dawn broke, someone chose to set himself on fire. Beside the burning glow, there was no applause, no weeping.

Only those lonely ghosts and wandering spirits remain, submerged beneath the River Styx.

"Kid! You're still alive!" Suddenly, a woman's voice interrupted Achilles.

The shapeshifting witch Circe, having traveled all the way from Olympus, couldn't help but shed tears upon seeing the still-living Achilles.

Yes, Achilles is still alive, so the other heroes must be alive too! Especially Sildenas, my Sildenas, he must still be alive! He must be!

She so longed for it, and so yearned for it.

"I knew it! How could a hero as noble as Sildenas be dead?" She seemed convinced that her hero was still alive, and with her hands on her hips, she arrogantly addressed the brat Achilles.

Achilles silently reached into the wooden box, took out the will bearing the name of Xerides, stepped forward, and handed it to her.

“Cyclops is dead, everyone is dead, only I am alive…” Achilles said like a puppet. “This is his last will and testament. Cyclops has no family, so I entrust it to you.”

"Huh?" Circe was stunned as he took the scroll of papyrus.

Even after Achilles left, she didn't notice. She stood there, stunned, staring at Xue's last will and testament in her hand. For some reason, tears streamed down her face, wetting the papyrus.

She kept wiping away her tears, but they flowed like a river bursting its banks, completely out of control.

It wasn't until she opened the papyrus that she saw Xue's last words.

[From me onward, future generations need not look up to the gods.]

"pat..."

Tears dripped onto the papyrus. Kark hurriedly removed the papyrus, and she stood there blankly, at a loss for what to do.

As if she had lost all her strength, she lost everything once again.

At that moment, a white owl arrived and calmly said, "If you are willing to wait, 3200 years from now, in the far east, you will find a similar flower."

"A similar flower?" she murmured, gazing towards the distant east.

……

And so, the story ends.

Of the 32 heroes on the Skybreaker, 31 died, leaving Achilles as the sole survivor.

He carried the last souls of his dearest friends on his back, and he would walk across all of Greece to guide their souls home.

This is his personal, eternal martyrdom, and also the last heroic tale of ancient Greece.

Centuries later, the Greeks still felt puzzled by the disappearance of the Age of Gods, and different legends existed in various places.