Chapter 272

""Does it sound like a buffet?""

""You can understand it that way." Heita continued his supplement, ""It is said that from the birth of the universe until the appearance of the Star Gods, there was a great void; in that void wandered a wondrous existence known as the ancient beasts. But after the Star Gods were born, the ancient beasts disappeared. Legend says that 'Gluttony' is the last ancient beast left in the world, but this claim is currently doubtful, unknown whether true or false.""

""Heita was speaking when Xing noticed the scenery around her shift again——perhaps meaning that Gluttony had just opened its maw again, swallowing the world she was in. This time, the Simulated Universe brought her to an ocean……a scarlet, warm-as-blood ocean.""

""A pleasant melody came from afar.""

""Xing instinctively stayed on guard. Yet the sound slipped into her eardrums, like tiny hands gently tugging at her nerves. Something awaited her at the end of the Red Sea——this realization melted sweetly like frosting in her mind.""

""Xing tried to resist the song with reason, but she couldn't control her legs……the water rose past her knees, and at the far end of the Red Sea a slit opened, from which the song came.""

""I can't help it… I really can't help it……I want to be eaten by Him.""

""Suddenly, Xing felt a light tap on her shoulder, and the song from the end of the Red Sea vanished instantly. The feeling in her mind disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief.""

""It must be Heita, Xing got a little angry: 'Can't you give me a heads-up next time this happens?'""

""Hehe, Xing, I know you're eager, but don't rush……I also want to observe how humans react when attracted by Gluttony.""

The Funeral of Frieren.

""The sun set westward, the campfire crackled. Filien clung to her staff, edging closer to the fire.""

""Lady Fuli lian, I suddenly feel……we're pretty fortunate.""

""Huh? Why do you think that, Filien?" Fuli lian's lips curled into a faint smile, her silver hair catching a hint of orange-red in the firelight, "Is it because of the Star Gods?""

""Hmm, I feel that we live in the same universe as these Star Gods and can still talk like this……it's an extremely fortunate thing.""

""Filien gazed at the starry sky: 'Just the standoff between Reproduction and Gluttony has wiped out two-thirds of the galaxies and civilizations in the universe; that we survive to this day shows we are that one-third. And being among that one-third, we don't know how many disasters caused by the Star Gods we've avoided, allowing civilization to continue to now.'"

""Our civilization and magic are utterly insignificant before the might of the Star Gods; just thinking that our world could be snuffed out by a flick of a Star God's finger makes me uneasy." Filien let out a soft sigh, the embers of the campfire flickering in her eyes, yet they could not dispel the chill seeping from deep within her marrow.""

Filien. Fulilian added a branch to the fire, sparks crackled: "Destroying us... those star gods absolutely do not need a 'finger snap', right?"

"..."At a time like this, you actually still have the mind to joke like this."" Filien puffed up her cheeks angrily.

Fulilian chuckled softly, slowly closing the magic book on her lap: "Filien, I understand your unease, because what is currently displayed in the simulated universe is nothing but chaos and destruction."

Just think about it—just as the opposite of Destruction is Preservation, and the opposite of Abundance is Hunt. Our civilization has managed to survive to this day; probably it is being gently protected by some star god. It could be Preservation, or maybe Harmony… who can say?

Xiutaerke nodded, half-understanding, and made an "oh oh" sound: "I get it, Fulilian, you mean… even if a star god wants to bully us, there will definitely be another star god to back us up. Is that what you mean?"

"Hmm… pretty much?"

——

Suddenly, Xing felt a sharp pain in her head, her legs went limp like a sliding sheet of paper, and she collapsed onto the beach.

Countless memories like fine steel needles pierced her consciousness, as if stirring a torrent that sought to sweep her away— in the twilight of some planet, a mother lifted her child overhead; on a space station corridor, researchers laughed while passing data tablets; under the neon of a ring city, lovers exchanged unfinished vows.

These images suddenly stretched and twisted, like light thrown into a Black Hole. She saw every face freeze before the maw of Gluttony, and a hundred million cries of "no" gathered into a deafening silence.

"Er ah—!"

Xing made a sound of pain.

"And Memory… how strange, even though I haven't seen Fuli, countless memories have surged into your mind." Heita was somewhat surprised, but quickly returned to her usual composure. The memories and pain in Xing's brain lasted only a few seconds before she treated them as some kind of program and removed them.

"What just happened?" Xing, barely recovering from the pain, rubbed her temples.

"This is the Memory Fuli; someone says the Memory path emerged precisely in this catastrophe, to preserve the moments of stars' extinction—which is actually reasonable—but too reasonable, like something a fictional historian would make up. Anyway, I've become a bit interested."

——

DC Universe.

"Ms. Heita's view…… the birth of star gods is too reasonable, thus appearing false." Bulus Weien frowned, his low voice carrying a hint of incomprehension: "Does she mean that the birth of star gods is always unreasonable?"

A'erfuleide stood to the side holding a tea tray, the silver tray reflecting orange light.

"Young master, forgive my frankness, but from what is known of Wisdom and Procreation, the birth of star gods does indeed possess a certain theatricality—this theatricality often conflicts with common sense, appearing even more arbitrary than human fiction."

"It's hard to imagine that the deity who seeks to solve all things in the universe was once merely a computer; the star god in charge of universal procreation, before ascension, was no different from the beetles in our garden…… Compared to that, the birth of the Memory path is truly too ordinary."

"Previously, an article on the Star Planet Daily reported some information about star gods, and the author believed that the emergence of star gods is a gradual process—just like undertaking a long journey on a specific path, one can become a star god by having walked far enough and long enough on that road."

"But speaking solely of Procreation… it's really not that complicated. Becoming a star god is just an instant—one second it's merely an ordinary bug, the next…… it becomes the insect king in charge of universal Procreation."