The Record of Unusual Creatures

For the native tribes on Inferno, the impact of the world’s tumultuous change was not entirely over.

The clouds over the steppe had disappeared. The canopy of Toka the First Born, once the upper crust, had been removed. The sun had reappeared, and various plants and animals that were once extinct had returned to the world. Vivian, the goddess, had brought about the rise of the Sun people and the construction of the incredible steel cities. Requiem and the cities of steel and storm (in fact they were the drone hangars and autonomous factories) all over the world had become the new holy places in the eyes of the indigenous people. Even the ancient souls of the Sun Dynasty had also returned to the world from the Realm of the Death, teaching the lost ancient skills to the people. Many nomads did not understand the meaning of this knowledge, but the younger generation was hooked by this ancestral knowledge, and gradually adapted to life in the city. Bonia was one of them.

The little saintess of the Fire tribe, Bonia, was now living with her people in the new “holy city” near Requiem. This new holy city was built under the calling of the spirit of the ancestors. It mimicked the urban layout of the ancient Sun Dynasty. Though a far cry from that of the incredible age, the clean streets and sturdy building structure of the New Holy City still gave Bonia an astonishing feeling. She had become even more cherished for ancient knowledge as a result.

But in the eyes of the ancestral spirit, Gragon, the new holy city was only a group of neatly arranged shacks. It would take many more years and generations before this world could restore its former glory.

Bonia, the saintess, possessed the most knowledge and the best ideas among her peers in this world. She, like other saintesses in other tribes, was respected in her own tribe. The VIPs of all tribes had now gathered in the new holy city. So the saintesses.

Due to their unique identity, the saintesses usually had no chance to loiter around. Also, because they were smarter than ordinary people, they were the key targets of education by the ancestral spirits. Every day, Bonia would spend the day learning and handle the duty of a saintess during the night. So she had only an hour at dusk where she could enjoy her rare leisure time.

At dusk, the class, conducted by the ancestral spirit Gragon, was finally over. The little saintess Bonia came out of the school and under the accompaniment of the guardian warriors of her tribe, returned to her place. She massaged her bulging head, which was stuffed with a variety of exciting things that she heard in the school. She had learned the essence of matters, the mystery of Mathematics, the power of gears and levers, as well as the ancient magic-powered devices, which was Bonia’s favorite. Gragon could use the power of the souls to create a vivid illusion. In the illusion, apprentices could see for themselves how the incredible ancient machines worked. It was so much more interesting than the boring theoretical lesson.

“You can now see the Pillar of Eternity.” The tribal warriors jolted her out of her thoughts.

Quickly slapping herself on the cheek, the little saintess found herself arriving on the higher ground on the edge of the new holy city. From here, she could see two sacred places. One was Requiem behind the new holy city. The jungle of steel-needle towers was always shrouded in lightning bolts and traversed by flying machines that emitted a silvery glow. It was not only the most revered but also an absolutely forbidden place. Two was the remains of the Pillar of Eternity at the end of the horizon.

The Pillar of Eternity used to be the pillar supporting the hard upper crust. It was actually the trunk of the giant tree Toka the First Born had formed with his tentacle. When the mining team from Fairy Void Consortium cut down the canopy, only a small part of the trunk remained standing. But this remaining stump was still magnificently huge and considered a miracle. The tribal people believed that the stump possessed the powers of Toka the giant and of Vivian, the goddess. Every day when Bonia passed by the higher ground, she would pray by facing the direction the Pillar of Eternity. She might be still young, but she already possessed the awareness of a saintess.

“Dear Goddess, thank you for bringing light to the world…”

The little saints said out the prayer, which was long-winded and tongue-twisting, by memory. The tribal warriors nearby quickly lost their patience and could no longer keep their attention. They might be faithful followers, but their faithfulness was mainly manifested in battles in the name of god. It was not realistic for them to listen to a complete prayer, especially a long-winded one.

The tribal warriors, shaking their heads, went to a side, checking their holy blades, which they carried all day with them. Bonia secretly glanced at them, making sure they were not listening, she quickly added her own words of prayer.

“Oh, Goddess, I have something to ask for your favor. When will you and your messengers come again? I miss the tastes of the shrimps and dried beans.”

Just when her voice trailed off, a large pack of snacks suddenly landed in her hands.

Bonia was once again in her signature expressionless demeanor, looking at the pack of snack in her hand, she suddenly exclaimed, “Wow, the goddess is real!”

“Don’t get too engrossed next time when you think of something you like to eat.” A gentle voice came from the side. Bonia looked up and found that Vivian was standing in front of her. Meanwhile, the tribal warriors guarding her had respectfully gone down on their knees.

The little saintess thought for a moment before she wowed again. “The goddess is really here!”

“Not seeing this kid for a while, I feel that she has become more slow-witted,” Hao Ren said.

As a saintess, Bonia was knowledgeable and intelligent. It was her innocence, and demeanor that gave the impression of being ‘slow.’ The most memorable thing Hao Ren could remember was of her dozing off and snoring in the corner of the room while the adults were having a discussion.

Bonia could not wait to tear open the snack package. Stuffing a mouthful of junk food, she began to think that her new prayers really worked. Before she knew it, she had already finished half a packet of dried beans before she suddenly realized something. “Ahh, I have to inform the patriarchs!” she said.

“That’s not necessary. I just need you to fetch Gragon and other ancestral spirits,’ Vivian said.

Soon, Gragon came with a group of souls of the Sun Dynasty before Vivian.

Gragon was the last king of the Sun Dynasty 10,000 years ago. When the goddess of creation sent the planet Inferno from the Plane of Dreams to the surface world, the planet was in a turmoil. Vivian’s split came to this world, suppressing and keeping the Toka the First Born who coexisted with the planet under control. Later, the then highest commander of the planet, Gragon, took over the responsibility of guarding Toka. He led all the royal family members of Sun Dynasty, killing themselves with poison and reincarnated as holy souls. This way, they could make sure the lullaby, which kept Toka in sleep in the underground, playing indefinitely. Only until the arrival of Hao Ren and Vivian, who defeated the demon-god Vivian and the First Born, that the souls were freed from their long service. Now Gragon and his brothers-in-arms became the spiritual leaders on the planet, being tasked with the responsibility of restoring the glory of the Sun Dynasty Civilization.

The respectable old king, followed by the holy souls behind him, bowed to Vivian. For the people on this planet, Vivian was a real deity.

Their perception of Vivian might be a little erroneous, but Hao Ren had no intention of correcting them.

“We are going to Requiem,” said Hao Ren. “Besides, we have also brought this planet a neighbor.”

Yggdrasil was now ‘hovering’ close to Inferno metaphorically. As the Nine Worlds were all located in different space and time, Yggdrasil existed in no specific location in the main material world. Yggdrasil, whom Hao Ren was really unsure whether he should address with ‘he’ or ‘her,’ was adjusting his own space-time opening so that when he entered the material world, he could overlap nicely with Inferno. This was a high-precision maneuver, which took time to complete. Before that happened, Hao Ren wanted to take Whitey to check out Toka.

Why would he not bring Blackie along? On the one hand, Blackie was the primary soul of Yggdrasil, who was more convenient if she could stay back controlling her own body; on the other hand, Hao Ren thought that it was too dangerous to have the maniac girl coming along. She was a freaking hazard.