Chapter 436 - 433: Stalemate

Chapter 436: Chapter 433: Stalemate

The golden figure remained seated on the edge of the stone, hugging its knees, still staring at the small puddle.

Its gaze seemed as if it would never leave the puddle.

It paid no mind to Mo Ling and the Little Elf’s conversation, and it was hard to tell if it was listening or simply didn’t care.

Only after Mo Ling and the Little Elf finished speaking did it speak again in that same monotonous voice.

"The simulation is over. You made a very good choice."

"Me?" the Little Elf asked, stunned.

"Yes, a better choice than mine," the god praised without reservation. "You are more suited to be a god than I. I will pass my body on to you."

"You’re too kind. Wait... body?" the Little Elf said, surprised.

"Yes. This sea is yours."

The god pointed at the puddle below, uttering these shocking words in a completely flat tone.

"Why?" The Little Elf couldn’t understand at all.

"Because you are more suited," the god repeated.

"You will make this world more beautiful."

The Little Elf clearly hadn’t processed it yet. After a moment’s thought, it immediately refused. "No, thank you. You don’t have to give it to me. I don’t want to be a god, and I don’t want this sea."

Hearing the Little Elf’s refusal, the god fell silent and said nothing for a long time.

It kept staring at the puddle, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Mo Ling and the Little Elf exchanged a glance. The two Block-heads stared at each other, each sensing the other’s worry.

’What if refusing the god’s request leads to some terrible consequence?’

Mo Ling tensed up immediately, and the Little Elf quietly shuffled away from the god on the stone’s edge.

After a long while, the god finally broke the silence.

"Why? Do you not want to be a god?"

It wasn’t angry at all, its question to the Little Elf still perfectly calm.

The Little Elf didn’t answer immediately. It considered its words for a long time before explaining to the god, "I do. But I have more important things to do."

"What could be more important than being a god?"

"I need to find my own wish..."

The Little Elf answered with firm conviction. "Whether as a god or as a wishing relic, I’ve always fulfilled the wishes of others. And of course, I enjoy the process of making wishes come true. It makes me very happy."

"But more than that, I want to discover my own wish. Or rather, I want to know what it feels like to *have* a wish. I always feel like something is missing inside me. If I can find that feeling, I can fill this void..."

The Little Elf’s goal had never changed. From the moment it left Oasis City, it had traveled the 3rd Floor of the Abyss for a long time, and even its journey to the Sea of Creation afterward was all for the sake of finding a wish.

"I wanted to ask my kin here what their wishes are, but they all ignore me."

"I won’t stop until I find a wish of my own."

The Little Elf’s tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt.

After hearing the Little Elf’s words, the god fell silent once more.

The atmosphere grew oppressive again.

Just then, Mo Ling asked, confused, "Why don’t you continue being a god?"

"Even though your choice was a mistake, aren’t things back on track now? The Sea of Creation is operating in an orderly way, and you can still fulfill wishes. Isn’t that good?"

"No, this isn’t on track at all," the Little Elf said abruptly.

"What do you mean?"

"It’s a dead end. Although this method is working well for now, it will collapse one day. Or, more accurately, it will spread," the Little Elf explained grimly.

"Spread?" The more Mo Ling heard, the more confused he became.

"Yes. The entire Sea of Creation will spread, becoming a mirror-like surface that devours living things. And it will happen faster and faster..."

As the Little Elf explained, Mo Ling slowly began to understand.

Apparently, it was related to a trait of the wishing race.

Although the wishing race consumes energy when helping other beings fulfill their wishes, doing so also increases their maximum energy capacity.

In other words, fulfilling wishes makes them stronger.

Every time their energy was depleted from granting wishes, it would be slightly greater than before once it fully recovered.

When the Little Elf first went to Oasis City, it didn’t have much energy either. It was only through the constant "exercise" of granting wishes that its energy grew, eventually becoming enough to enact the plan to save the entire city.

As a member of the wishing race, the god was, of course, the same.

Its energy was still constantly increasing.

At the same time, because it had forcibly bound the golden light to the area of the Sea of Creation, the seawater itself had begun to change.

The seawater grew increasingly viscous, even becoming like a mirror.

This seawater also possessed a terrifying activeness and an assimilating quality. Some areas would even devour and assimilate any creatures that passed by.

The current size of the Sea of Creation was already at the limit of its compressed energy, so as its power continued to grow, the god had no choice but to expand its borders.

"So, the Sea of Creation will just keep spreading, and its activity will grow stronger and stronger," the Little Elf explained.

"To stop the Sea of Creation from spreading further, the god could only let its mechanical kin grant wishes instead. But by granting wishes, their energy also increases. One day, they will inevitably gain sentience and escape the god’s control."

"When that happens, it will have to reabsorb those breakaway fragments, but that in turn will cause the energy of the main body to skyrocket."

"It’s a vicious cycle..." Mo Ling said in a daze.

"Yes. As long as wishes continue to be granted, it’s a vicious cycle," the Little Elf said gravely.

"And it’s not just that. Once the Sea of Creation was formed, there was no other path to take. If the god were to release the bindings on its energy, the Sea of Creation would instantly engulf the entire ocean, bringing annihilation to all living things."

"So, it can only watch helplessly as the Sea of Creation continues to spread..."

At this, the Little Elf trailed off.

The god sat on the edge of the stone, hugging its knees, gazing at the puddle without a word.

Only then did Mo Ling understand why the god had been running simulations of so many different choices. It was just trying to find a way to escape this dead end.

"But even if it gives you its authority, you can’t solve these problems. The path is already set, and the choice can’t be undone."

Mo Ling still didn’t understand why the god wanted to dump this mess on the Little Elf.

’Does the Little Elf actually have a solution?’

Mo Ling looked toward the Little Elf, and the two Block-heads’ eyes met again.

"Actually, this dead end is very easy to break," the Little Elf said softly. "You just have to stop the energy from increasing."

Hearing the Little Elf’s words, it suddenly dawned on Mo Ling.

"You just have to stop fulfilling wishes, right?"

"Yes," the Little Elf nodded.

The two of them looked in unison toward the god on the edge of the stone.

It remained motionless, watching the small puddle.

Sensing their questioning gazes, the god finally spoke.

"I can’t."