Chapter 34: Humanity

"I seem to have discovered something..."

Lilith turned around, and Chumen felt his heart skip a beat; he had a very bad feeling.

"Within every life form, there seems to be an existence of 'Godhood,' but they are so weak, why would they have 'Godhood'?"

In front of Lilith was a... humanoid creature woven entirely from flowers and grass.

That body, woven entirely from grass, was exceptionally agile; it jumped from Lilith's hand onto the ground, dancing and gesturing, looking quite amusing at first glance.

"When I was an Ancient God, I never paid attention to creatures below the level of a Demigod, but now I have made some different discoveries."

Lilith's eyes lit up, and for the first time, Chumen saw a different kind of light in them.

Is this curiosity?

Chumen was not entirely sure, but for Lilith, it probably wasn't a bad thing.

"This is really not a good thing for me." Chumen stepped forward and kicked the humanoid creature away.

"Since Godhood exists within every life form, what about humanity? I find that my understanding of humanity is a bit too simple."

"So I feel I need some references."

Lilith reached out to pluck a blade of grass beside her; the floral wreath on her head shimmered, and the grass suddenly twisted, becoming animated, even possessing a certain degree of a "soul."

"Are you trying to grant these things true souls and life so they can act out what humanity is for you?"

"What do you think?" Lilith looked at Chumen.

"I think you should look at the essence of these things." Chumen sighed softly and withdrew the Dream Phosphor in this castle.

This was a castle he had forged, suppressing a certain essence of madness, which was also the reason why the anomaly caused by Lilith had not caused large-scale casualties in the territory despite spreading.

And after he withdrew the Dream Phosphor, that madness lost its restraint and erupted suddenly.

The "objects" to which Lilith had forcibly granted life using her Life Authority all underwent terrifying mutations at this moment.

The maid who had led Chumen into the castle saw her body swell violently; various severed limbs and rotting corpses emerged from all over her body, bursting through her robes and revealing themselves.

Her own state was also constantly shifting—she was a werewolf, a vengeful spirit, and a Puppet, possessing the characteristics of all these creatures simultaneously.

And that "humanoid creature" that Chumen had kicked away completely collapsed, becoming a mass of eerie flesh and blood, constantly squirming, carrying with it the fragrance of flowers, trees, and grass.

The grass that had just been granted a soul turned into a mass of squirming, fleshy tentacles.

Even more exaggerated was the sight of countless blood-red eyes attached to tentacles crawling out from the gaps, twitching in a disordered and insane manner.

They danced frantically with their bodies, emitting an aura of disordered madness, making even Chumen feel a desire for Destruction.

Even Lilith felt a sense of disgust after one look; this was the thing she had been suppressing ever since she met Chumen, the very essence of this world.

"In a broad sense, humanity might not need to be sought in humans, but this... thing, whose essence is madness, should be the last thing you want to see."

"You granted them life and crude souls, but you also know that these things cannot become true life." Chumen tried his best to restrain himself, but he was still disgusted.

"Purification!" Chumen channeled the sunlight from the outside world into the castle.

This was the Sun Kingdom of the Sun God; if not for the obstruction of the Dream Light, these filthy and evil things would never have had any space to survive here.

"Ah!" Almost all the Monsters wailed under the Purification of the sunlight, unable to resist.

Only the stitched monster transformed from the "Puppet" Characteristic had the possibility of resisting.

But Chumen just glanced at it, and the "Puppet" became a Marionette, walking out from a pile of ashes.

"You must ensure that your various actions do not bring trouble to others."

Chumen walked over to Lilith and sat down.

"These things are insignificant to you and me, but for those ordinary humans, they are already a catastrophe."

"Your exploration of humanity and Godhood is likely not wrong." Chumen commented based on his own understanding of the essence of this world.

Lilith's eyes lit up, staring intently at Chumen, waiting for his answer.

"All things possess Godhood, originating from that original Creator." Chumen stated some conclusions from later generations, "As for humanity, you need to find it yourself."

"What I can tell you is that it is feasible."

In later generations, two little wolves successfully achieved this.

"But at the very least, as a friend, I hope you can exercise Temperance and restraint in the process of maintaining your desire to explore." Chumen suggested sincerely.

"Desire, Temperance, and restraint..." Lilith was thoughtful, "Is this your understanding of humanity?"

Chumen was startled, only then remembering that he had once said desire was a part of humanity.

"Alright, I agree, for the sake of our friendship." Lilith nodded gently.

"... Good." Chumen nodded gently; he let the Dream Phosphor fall again, merging into the castle and isolating the sunlight once more.

It took him some time to restore the Dream Territory to normal and save those who had been corrupted by the Puppet.

Chumen departed amidst the prayers and praises of the believers and went to find Sasriel.

"You have also seen the Scroll of Civilization, so what will you do next?" Chumen asked straightforwardly.

He was extremely special among the Angels of the Sun Kingdom, possessing an autonomous territory, having his own unique believers, and even being able to speak to God's Right Hand in such a manner.

"The correct future will arrive." Sasriel had no other emotions and was willing to reveal future arrangements to Chumen.

Chumen was also one of the few who could disregard his status.

Chumen nodded gently; the future that existed on the Scroll of Civilization would arrive, which might mean that there were still hundreds of years until the God War where the Ancient Sun God would truly reclaim his Authority.

"That is good. If there is anything, you can come find me; I am preparing to enter the Dream Book for a trip."

"Enter?!" Sasriel's pupils constricted, his expression becoming serious.

"Yes, enter! I will return at an indefinite time." Chumen smiled lightly; he had made great progress in his exploration of the Dream Book.

"Be careful." Sasriel had long guessed that the Dream Book was something akin to a Source Quality.

From his own perspective, was entering the Chaos Sea something that easy?

He was only able to use the power of the Chaos Sea by relying on the Blasphemy Slate.

Sasriel did not say much more, only offering a reminder.

Chumen smiled and nodded.

Afterwards, he returned to the base of the Dream Statue, merged completely into it, and jumped into the Dream Book within a dark Space.

Chumen's goal was the depths of the Dream Sea, a place of indescribable magnificence, as if it were the gathering of all the beautiful dreams, desires, and visions of every living being throughout history.