Chapter 144: Branching Streams of Silver and Gold
"Look at those fools. Sleeping away as though nothing had happened." Shaking her head with a soft smile, Yuena didn't look nearly as annoyed as she sounded. Glancing back at her sleeping peers one last time, she closed the door and followed her partner.
"Well, dwelling on it won't make it disappear. I think they're putting in enough thought so why not give them a pass?" Smiling softly as her hand slipped into his own, Wulin led the way out of the working student dormitory.
"Yeah, yeah. I know they're hard working brats, you don't have to keep telling me." Rolling her eyes she playfully nudged her partner as she softly closed the door to the dormitory behind them. It was well past curfew but as leaders of a cult, they didn't really care.
"You say that but I think you're the one who spoils them the most, you know." A playful glint sparkled in Wulin's vermillion eyes as he laughed off her gentle punch. Though she acted tough, his partner was perhaps the most forgiving and overprotective woman he knew. Though, admittedly, he didn't know too many women.
"Just tell me what you saw already." Blushing faintly, she looked away in search of a distraction and a place to walk. With their spiritual sense, the latter was already accounted for but Wulin wasn't going to burst her bubble. He quite liked not being struck by lightning.
"He's alive somewhere which means it was the Silver Blue Demon Bird that caused the Spatial Distortion." Frowning slightly at the thought, Wulin had a rough image of what had happened in his head. The Silver Blue Demon Bird was one half of the Phoenix God's parents, the Golden Blue Demon Bird being the other, and it was clear that it had been reborn.
Though it was vague, Wulin clearly recalled the moment the Blue Demon Birds were killed by the Dragon God as that fell within the chaotic memories of the Dragon God. However, the Jade Dragon King was also killed and yet an atavist of his blood now walked the earth. The same could easily be said for one of the Blue Demon Birds.
Following its rebirth, Wulin couldn't be too sure. Perhaps out of a desire for its mate or some kind of memory transference, it wished to create a second Phoenix God. To that end, it created a spatial distortion and pulled in another universe running parallel to this one. In this universe, it was the Golden Blue Demon Bird that had been birthed by the world.
What Wulin didn't understand was how there were multiple versions of the same universe. The universe was a stream, for it to be diverted was something inconceivable even by the Dragon God due to how much 'water' would have to be split to accomplish such a thing. How many hundreds of thousands, millions even, of universes would have to be moved?
"He?" Raising a brow curiously, Yuena was curious where he had gotten that idea from. The first Phoenix God, despite being called a god, was in fact a woman. It was possible they had been reborn as a man but she felt it was unlikely.
Just as the Silver and Gold Dragons were the two halves of the Dragon God, the yin and the yang, so were the Phoenix God and the Dragon God. They were born of the universe's Yin and Yang, two halves of genesis. Unlike the dragon emperors though, these two did give in to their desires to slaughter the other.
"It's just a guess, don't worry too much." Waving off her worries, Wulin led her further into the woods before taking a seat. The sunset was widely considered to be the most beautiful sight in the sky but Wulin would argue that the golden and silver stream running through the starry skies was far more beautiful.
"You're such a flirt." Rolling her eyes with a giggle, Yuena rested her head on his shoulder and basked in the minorly divine sight before them. He only answered her with a small chuckle full of joy, a smile tugging at her lips at the melodious sound.
Silence reigned supreme for a few blissful moments before the showing of divine prowess vanished, the gold and silver stream engraved upon the heavens fading away. But, one day they would return. And when that day came they would never disappear.
"There are two reasons I believe the universe was split." Suddenly standing up she took a step apart with a frown. It was a similar moment to one three years ago, a moment where Yuena revealed her deepest secrets to him. "The universal order took action however it is unlikely for that lump of logic to do anything. The second… a reincarnator was born."
The look in Gu Yuena's eyes sent a shiver down his spine as Wulin was forced to stand on the tightrope that would decide his fate. Wulin feared many things, small things like making a shameful memory all the way to massive issues like the destruction of all life. But the biggest thing he feared was…
"It's alright. Breathe." Warm arms wrapped around his head as he abruptly found himself cradled by a familiar scent. His hurried breathing he didn't even notice slowed, a deliberate but faulty attempt at normalcy.
"I thought I had gotten over this fear." Chuckling akwardly, Wulin found himself shaking in his partner's embrace. His greatest fear was… being hated by the woman he decided to dedicate his life to. He knew better, he really did. He knew that if she heard the truth she would accept him just as he had done for her.
But there was that nagging thought, that soft whisper of the devil. What if, rather than accepting him, she scorned him? What if she threw him away, and disappeared just like she did? What if, what if, what if, what if. So many ifs. He hated it. He hated this side of humanity. He hated this weakness of his. He hated himself for having these thoughts.
"Even for gods, fears are difficult to surpass." Softly massaging his back Yuena was sure she hit the mark with her guess. The universe and reincarnators were intrinsically connected as whenever the latter was born, the universe would 'split'.
Fate would branch into paths, one where the reincarnator was born and another where that never happened. It was the only way to correct the 'anomaly' that was a reincarnator and allow the course of fate to continue as intended.
However, she also knew that she was wrong. Wulin was a reincarnator, she knew that for a very long time. But he wasn't the reincarnator that caused the branch of fate their world was currently being combined with. That world was from at least twenty thousand years ago but it was possible it was far longer. At the very least, the current Sea God never ascended.
This was an excuse, an excuse to finally see Wulin for who he truly was.
****
Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.
Wulin has always been such a strong character both emotionally and physically that this may come as a surprise, but he is human too. Well, to some extent anyway. Wulin is strong but he isn't untouchable when it comes to emotions so while this may be surprising, I think it's well within character.
If you want more chapters, head to patre*on.com/TrapOverlord for up to 25 extra chapters. It isn't required but it'd be much appreciated.