Chapter 157: He Is My Son’s Father, After All

Eleanor remained prostrate upon the ground.

He gazed up at Julius, momentarily incapable of distinguishing whether the sensation tightly constricting his chest was sheer terror or overwhelming astonishment. The man had turned his back to him, devoting his entire focus to the child resting within the stone basin. And yet, Eleanor didn’t so much as dare to stand back up.

He had actually intended to murder that man, to kill the grand and divine Creator God whom he had worshipped throughout his entire, painfully long Elven existence.

The mere thought of it made his knees quake even more violently.

A long beat passed before Eleanor finally prostrated his hands against the floor, slowly crawling closer to Julius. He halted a few paces away and bowed deeply.

"Creator God... please forgive my transgression. I failed to recognize you, and even dared to raise my hand against you..."

Julius turned his head to look down at him. The sheer tension etched across Eleanor’s face coaxed a soft laugh from his lips. He reached out to ruffle the Elf’s hair, moving with the gentle tenderness of a parent soothing a child who had just made a mistake.

To the Creator God, who had existed since the days when this world was nothing more than motes of primordial dust, Eleanor truly resembled nothing more than a child who had lived just a bit longer than others.

"There is no need for that. I am no longer the Creator God of this world."

Eleanor snapped his head upward, his pupils contracting sharply as he blurted out, "What do you mean by that?"

"My divine authority has already dissolved away," Julius smiled. "Right now, I am merely a human somewhat stronger than the likes of you. There is no need to kneel before me."

Eleanor stared up at him with an utterly blank expression. He seemed to comprehend every single word, yet utterly failed to stitch them together into a coherent meaning. *The Creator God lost His divine authority? A deity can turn into a human being?*

And why... Why on earth would the Creator God choose to become an ordinary human?

*Shouldn’t... shouldn’t He have chosen to become an Elf like us instead?!*

Julius didn’t offer any further explanations. Neither was he harboring any anger, for he understood all too well the inherent nature of the Elven race.

Eleanor viewed Elves as the most noble species in existence, while treating every other living creature as inherently inferior. That wasn’t a sentiment exclusive to him alone; the vast majority of Elves grew up steeped in that exact brand of arrogance, nurtured by the continuous praise of their kin and the unwavering belief that they inherently deserved to stand above all others.

Perhaps only Ian deviated from that mindset just a fraction.

Ian sat slumped on the floor, one hand pressed against his aching throat. He stared at Julius, his mind swirling in utter chaos. That man was Kei’s father, yet he was also the Creator God worshipped by the Elves. The coexistence of those two facts within a single individual left him entirely at a loss as to which reality to believe first.

Julius turned back to the jade pedestal, bending down to scoop Kei up into his arms.

The boy’s cheeks had regained a faint flush thanks to the Sacred Spring of Life, but his eyes remained tightly shut. Julius gently stroked his son’s soft, disheveled locks. His fingertips lingered against that warm skin far longer than strictly necessary, as though a mere extra second of touch might somehow anchor the boy to his side.

"Who is this child?" Eleanor asked with cautious trepidation.

"My son."

Julius pulled Kei tighter against his chest. That brief, concise reply carried no trace of arrogance, nor did it hold any desire to elaborate. It was simply an absolute truth to him.

He lifted his gaze to survey the colossal tree canopy blanketing the sky.

"Thank you, Tree of Life. I know you did everything within your power."

The leaves rustled. A soft, pale green radiance cascaded down from above, blanketing Julius’s shoulders alongside Kei’s pale features.

"Yet this child’s journey ahead remains exceedingly long. Relying solely on your efforts and mine is far from sufficient."

Ian stared upward. He had no earthly idea who Julius was conversing with, yet every single leaf around them was trembling despite the utter lack of wind.

The green radiance filling the sky abruptly flared with brilliant intensity.

It poured downward like a silent cascade, enveloping both Julius and Kei. The aura blanketing the father and son wasn’t dazzlingly harsh, yet Ian still found himself squinting. Within that glow, Julius’s long black hair began to catch a golden sheen. Strand by strand, his locks slowly shifted hue, transforming into a brilliant, sparkling gold. His ruby-red eyes faded before shifting into a pristine, crystalline, and utterly divine golden hue.

The ambient air inside the forest seemed to freeze solid.

Ian stood frozen in utter shock, while Kael forgot his physical agony entirely, propping himself up on his hands to stare upward in disbelief. Eleanor buckled straight down onto his knees once more, tears overflowing from his eyes to streak down his face.

The memories of an Elf who had survived for over a millennium were inherently prone to fading. There were distant events so hazy that Eleanor could no longer recall the exact year they transpired. Yet there was a singular moment he had never once forgotten.

The day the former Elf King had brought him, the designated heir to the throne at the time—to pay respects to the Creator God during His visit to the Tree of Life.

Back then, the Creator God had possessed gorgeous golden hair and stunning golden eyes. He had gently brushed his fingers against the glowing leaves encircling Him. Angels had fluttered gracefully high above, their cascading light turning the forest into a place indistinguishable from the divine kingdom itself.

A young Eleanor back then had knelt beneath His feet, convinced he was gazing upon the most noble beauty in the entire universe.

Over a thousand years later, right before his very eyes, that exact silhouette had returned once more.

Julius lifted his head, gazing up at the branches spreading across the heavens as he murmured softly:

"Thank you."

A tender, childish voice echoed directly within his consciousness:

*"I cannot cleanse those impurities away. I can only reverse time for a single fleeting fraction. Once you save this child, you may very well perish... or drift into an eternal slumber. Julius, do you harbor any regrets?"*

The Tree of Life had forever wondered why he chose this specific path. By merely turning his back on that person, Julius could have continued reigning as an almighty Creator God, living immortal alongside the world.

An eternity of existence, traded away in exchange for abandoning the one he loved, to a life form as juvenile as the Tree of Life, love was an incomprehensible concept; thus, in its eyes, love should always be the very first thing sacrificed.

Julius bent down, pressing a lingering, affectionate kiss upon Kei’s forehead. His lips brushed against skin warmer than before, yet the boy still didn’t open his eyes to gaze up at him, piercing Julius’s heart with a sharp pang of sorrow.

Divine radiance gradually blanketed Kei entirely. Julius closed his eyes for a fleeting second before lowering his lashes to offer a faint, bittersweet smile.

"Saving him... I have never once regretted it."

He pulled Kei closer, as though that declaration wasn’t merely meant for the Tree of Life, but for his own heart, as well.

"He is my son’s father, after all."