"Father, is this really all we need to do? Shouldn't we prepare something else first, or at least find somewhere quieter and more secluded? Saying you're going to use me to directly contact the Aeon of Permanence in broad daylight sounds a little terrifying even to me."
Despite Ao Xiaotian's almost blindly fervent faith in Caelus, even he was momentarily stunned when Caelus said he intended to use Xiaotian's bloodline to contact the Aeon of Permanence right here.
"There's no need. I'm not relying on some mysterious ceremony or special ritual technique to communicate with that ancient god. I'm simply using my own ability, so the location doesn't matter."
After hearing that, Ao Xiaotian could only reluctantly agree and remain seated cross-legged on the ground.
Caelus glanced toward Jing Yuan, Baiheng, and Bailu in the distance. The three were clearly there to watch the spectacle. He had already warned them that if they did not want to get caught up in whatever happened, they should stay well away, so they had obediently retreated to a distance to observe.
Still, Caelus had never actually attempted this before, so he had no idea whether even that distance would be enough to prevent unwanted effects.
He then loosened the concept of All Things Returning to One, which had always been restrained within his body by Nihility.
The instant the principle and concept of All Things Returning to One spread outward, Ao Xiaotian, who had been sitting on the ground fully prepared, immediately developed a distant, unfocused look. His eyes transformed into dazzling red-gold vertical pupils, brilliant as solar flares.
The dragon horns and tail that Ao Xiaotian normally kept hidden emerged fully, while traces of dragon scales gradually appeared across his skin.
With unfocused eyes, he looked at Caelus. He looked upon his father, his heaven, his god, his beginning.
A voice continuously whispered beside his ear, urging him to embrace the existence before him. It was the beginning of all things and the end of everything. It was the origin of the universe, and one day it would also become the universe's final destination.
Everything flowed out from the original "One," and in the end, everything would return to that "One."
Even Jing Yuan, Baiheng, and Bailu, who were watching from far away, gradually developed distant looks in their eyes. An overwhelming desire to return arose within all three of them, like an instinctive longing to return to the womb.
It was the obsession of a traveler who had wandered for far too long and yearned to return home. It was the final wish of an old man approaching death who wanted to be buried in his homeland. It was the memory of meals once cooked by loved ones who had long since passed away. It was the yearning inspired by precious memories left behind in childhood.
All three began walking forward without realizing it, driven by that unprecedented longing to return.
Roots and new shoots gradually began growing from Jing Yuan's body.
White fur started spreading across Baiheng, as though her body were reverting toward some older ancestral bloodline.
Dragon scales appeared across Bailu as her body gradually lengthened, as though she were about to transform into a true dragon.
Ao Xiaotian had already risen uncontrollably from the ground. He stretched out both arms, trying to embrace the point before him that symbolized the beginning of all things.
Caelus extended a finger and touched Ao Xiaotian's forehead, temporarily stopping the uncontrolled draconic transformation and depriving him of the ability to move.
At the same time, he drew back part of the concept of All Things Returning to One.
The three watching from afar immediately regained their senses.
Jing Yuan stared blankly at the branches and leaves that had somehow sprouted from his body.
Baiheng let out a short scream when she realized her entire body was now covered in white fox fur.
Bailu pouted as she looked at her body, which had already shrunk back to its original height. Why had the changes affecting the other two remained, while the extra height she had finally gained disappeared immediately?
Caelus began chanting a series of strange incantations. As the words continued, traces of dragon scales appeared across his skin. A pair of winding black dragon horns grew from his head, while a black dragon tail extended from the base of his spine.
Armoring Ritual.
Designated target, Long the Permanence!
The instant this almost blasphemous ritual was completed, Caelus felt his consciousness cross an immeasurable distance through time and space before arriving in an unknown place.
Before him was what appeared to be an enormous planet composed entirely of black and white. Then, in an instant, the planet disappeared before appearing once more.
It was not a planet.
It was an eye.
As his perspective rose higher and higher, Caelus finally saw an unimaginably vast dragon coiled among the stars, looking down upon him from across the cosmos.
"Junior, I know why you have come to find me. I must admit that power originating beyond this universe truly can bring this universe greater possibilities, more change, and more vitality. That is a good thing."
A profoundly strange voice sounded beside Caelus. It could not be identified as male or female, nor could it easily be described as the cry of any living creature. It resembled the echoes created when countless parts of nature collided and intertwined.
It was like the roar of a waterfall striking stone, the endless murmur of flowing rivers, the subtle sound of plants sending out new shoots, and the voice of wind sweeping across the world.
"Creation. The appearance of this Path means that the lives within this universe will possess a broader future. It also means you have opened a crack in what was once an inevitable ending of destruction. That is precisely why Destruction is trying to stop you without reservation. Once Creation exists, Destruction is no longer absolute."
Long, the Aeon of Permanence, continued speaking in that incomprehensible voice, one that would have been enough to drive an ordinary person mad.
"I understand what you intend to do, and I support your efforts to bring the possibility of Creation into this universe. When the proper moment comes, call for me. The me who existed in the past will briefly descend into the era in which you exist and lend you my aid."
"Then what about the current you...?"
"Do you not already carry the answer within yourself?"
"You went from the Finality in which all things return to one, to the Abundance in which one becomes countless living beings?"
"Heh. Traveler from another world, what do you believe true Permanence really is?"
"Even the universe itself may one day perish. So true Permanence should be possibility itself. The universe may be destroyed, but it may also continue. Living beings may advance, but they may also regress. Therefore, only change, possibility itself, can truly be permanent.
"Even if the universe is destroyed, another universe may one day be born, and new life may once again emerge. All of those things remain possible."
"Hahaha! Exactly! True Permanence is change. Everything will decay. Everything will eventually pass away. Only change itself is truly eternal.
"Through that unusual ritual, you gathered together the fragments of myself that had dispersed throughout the universe, allowing me to speak with you briefly in the present. I am also very pleased that you understand what true Permanence means. Before we part, allow me to give you a small gift."
When Caelus returned from that strange state, nearly every draconic feature on his body had disappeared.
Only his golden eyes remained, shining brilliantly.
After countless ages, when all living beings had come to believe the Path of Permanence had faded from the universe, one person had stepped onto what seemed to be a vanished Path.
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)