parentshiftbook Chapter 501: A World With Only Herself
Chapter 501: A World With Only Herself
But the question was, how could Adele win! Adele’s suspicious look at Shirley seemed to say, “I don’t think you’re reliable.” In short, all she knew now was that she was a weakling who, apart from being good at cuddling, was no different from ordinary people in other aspects, maybe even much weaker in a 1000-meter race...!
Forget about surpassing the Lord of Heaven. The problem was how to defeat that Heaven’s Way girl who “acknowledged a thief as her mother”! Since she was completely Adele’s opposite, let’s just call her “Hated Adele”!
Adele thought so, but a cold hum came from beside her ear.
“Who’s Hated Adele? My name is Jing Yan.” This voice sounded familiar, but after reacting, Adele felt her scalp tingle and a chill run down her spine! This... wasn’t this her own voice!?
Combined with the other party’s words, it could basically be judged that the existence currently communicating with Adele was the girl who was sitting on the shoulder of the Lord of Heaven, Yawei. One of the Creation God’s soul fragments! Adele’s nemesis, the Heaven’s Way above all rules! Why could she hear her voice?!
Compared to the dumbfounded and trembling Adele, Shirley reacted first and waved her hand. A new image appeared on the water of the Spring of Agelessness, but it wasn’t a broadcast of the divine war. It showed a girl’s bedroom.
Beside the sleeping girl, who was undoubtedly Adele, sat a petite, silver-haired girl, identical to Adele in every other way. She leaned down, her silver hair cascading onto Adele’s body, her lips close to Adele’s ear, whispering like a little devil, “My sleepy little sister, and my rebellious older sister~”
“Weren’t you looking for me? Here I am.”
Who the hell was looking for you?! Adele’s face flushed red, but trapped in the dream, she couldn’t speak. Shirley calmly looked at the image in the spring.
Suddenly, Adele remembered something and turned sharply to Shirley. “Shirley, didn’t you say we are three in one, so you could know what I’m thinking!?”
“Then can you know what she’s thinking!?”
Shirley shook her head. “Heaven’s Way stands above all in the Creation God’s mind.”
“I can’t know her thoughts.”
“But she can perceive ours. From the moment she came to us, we have no secrets from her.”
“But that’s fine. Let her see everything, let’s see how she reacts.”
“At least for now, she doesn’t intend to kill us.” Shirley was right. Not only did Jing Yan not intend to kill them, she even took an ink pen from Adele’s room and drew little pigs on Adele’s sleeping face. One little pig, two, three... Adele really was sleeping like a little pig, snoring cutely.
But this was unbearable! Adele was furious!
“Let me out! Shirley!”
“I’m going to fight her to the death!”
Shirley spread her hands. “You can’t do anything to her.” Seeing Jing Yan having fun, Shirley felt relieved. There was a possibility she hadn’t told Adele. Jing Yan was most likely not on their side, but she wasn’t necessarily against them either. She might become an uncontrollable variable.
“Let’s go. It’s time to show you the miracle of Sodom.” Shirley said. Then the doors of the palace deep within Sodom suddenly opened.
Adele looked up, and Shirley had already changed into ancient attire, simple yet sacred and solemn.
She ascended the jade steps, looked back, and with a lowered gaze, exuded a queenly aura that made one involuntarily want to follow her. Adele took one last look at Jing Yan, who was still playing pranks in her room, gritted her teeth, turned around, and followed Shirley.
The image on the surface of the Spring of Agelessness gradually dissipated, returning to calm.
Sensing the disconnection, Jing Yan puffed up her cheeks slightly. Although she was sent by her “mother” to completely devour Shirley and Adele, Jing Yan didn’t seem to be in a hurry to complete the task. And her “mother,” the Lord of Heaven, couldn’t spare the attention right now.
At the end of the mythical era, She abandoned the authority originally belonging to the Creation God to rule this world so that She could cross the world barrier and find Jing Yan. But precisely because of this, although the current Lord of Heaven was powerful, she wasn’t yet able to use the world’s rules to crush the strongest of this world, including the Philosopher King, the Black Emperor, and Jormungandr.
That’s why the divine war seemed to be in a stalemate, buying Adele and the others time. Although Black Emperor and the others noticed that the Lord of Heaven had sent the girl on Her shoulder into the world behind them that they were guarding, they couldn’t spare the time to deal with her for now.
Neither the Lord of Heaven nor the strongest of the Human Race could restrain the silver-haired girl anymore. Jing Yan had regained her freedom. Theoretically the strongest being currently on this world, but, contrary to expectations, she wasn’t wreaking havoc. Instead, she was playing pranks by Adele’s side, a fact both confusing and fortunate.
Adele, however, wasn’t feeling fortunate. She couldn’t sense what was happening outside, what Jing Yan was doing to her body! Just the thought made her scalp tingle!
Damn it, I can’t take this! Once I’m out, I’m going to punch Jing Yan to bits! Adele fumed inwardly as she followed Shirley through the bright, deep corridors of Sodom’s palace. Although she knew Shirley must have her reasons, she still couldn’t help but wonder, Shirley... where are you taking me, and what are we doing? Adele knew Shirley could hear her thoughts, so this was also a way of asking.
“Your favorite thing. Getting cheats.” Shirley answered, just as the girl had hoped. Adele’s ears perked up visibly.
“Cheats to defeat the Lord of Heaven!?”
“...” Shirley’s silence made Adele realize something was wrong. If Shirley had such cheats, would she have spent millennia biding her time, placing all her hopes on Adele?
So, she scratched her cheek sheepishly and asked, “Then...defeating Jing Yan should be no problem, right?”
“Hard to say.” No one knew Jing Yan’s current strength, but it shouldn’t be weak.
The great gift Shirley was about to bestow upon Adele was one of her backup plans, prepared before Sodom was destroyed by heavenly fire. She hadn’t used it because she knew the battle between her and Yawei was a long shot. She was the most helpless of the Creation God’s soul fragments, neither here nor there, ultimately unable to do anything. So, she placed her hopes on the future, on Adele, hoping she hadn’t misjudged... though Adele seemed unreliable no matter how you looked at her.
They reached the depths of Sodom’s palace. It was resplendent, filled with exquisite reliefs that kept Adele’s jaw dropped. The dome was made of a special colored glaze that allowed sunlight to shine on the throne. This wasn’t achieved through oppression like in feudal times, but through voluntary contributions. Greedy dragons provided gold and silver treasures, dwarves wielded hammers for forging and construction, giants provided labor, beastmen ran errands, angels soared and patrolled the skies, Cat-Birds ate and drank freely in Sodom... It was the result of everyone’s hard work and selfless dedication for a common ideal.
Speaking of Cat-Birds, this race had quite a history of freeloading. Tracing back, the first Chosen Girl should be Shirley. She kept a Cat-Bird, especially good at acting cute and spoiled to get food and drinks, the mascot of Sodom.
Later, when the heavenly fire came and the mythical era ended—though not completely, at least not like the great flood that wiped out almost 99% of intelligent life—the remaining humans and other Foreign Races started a new era, the current one. The few remaining, non-core members of the Witch Society were the founders of the magic world, a little-known fact.
Teacher Victoria, known as the Chosen Girl in the magic world, also kept a Cat-Bird. And now, Adele had... ahem, “poached” a little Cat-Bird, First Snow, from Teacher Winona.
So it turns out the Chosen Girl really is me. jpg
“This is it,” Shirley said, closing her eyes, as if sensing and summoning something. Adele stood there, lost, until Shirley reminded her with a frown, “Close your eyes.”
“...Why?” Adele complied, but couldn’t help but ask. Shirley didn’t answer, because everything changed after Adele closed her eyes.
When people close their eyes, they see not darkness, but their eyelids. But what does a soul see when it closes its eyes? Adele wasn’t a complete soul yet... but let’s put that aside. In short, while Adele didn’t understand the principle, perhaps it was the “field spell” effect of Sodom, when she closed her eyes in the dream, she saw...
...countless souls, as vivid as ever, floating in a boundless blue ocean. They filled Sodom’s palace. Looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Adele saw them filling the entire city! The utopian country was bustling with life! It felt like a different world! Most striking were the lively, innocent, and cute girls surrounding Shirley. There were also elegant and aloof older sisters, masked winged female warriors, dwarf princesses in princess dresses who looked like chibi figures—how exciting!—a hot dragon girl with bright red horns and adorned with gold, and the tribal girl standing before Shirley, gently wiping away her tears.
Adele remembered her name, the bright “Xia.” But her hand couldn’t touch Shirley’s cheek. The tears passed right through her fingers, leaving streaks on Shirley’s face. Adele felt an overwhelming sadness, a suffocating sadness. Shirley had... carried it all, walked alone.
“Here, they... why...” Adele had so many questions, but they were fragmented and she couldn’t speak.
Shirley answered her confusion, raising a hand to summon a glowing sphere of memory that entered Adele’s mind. This time, the process was quick, perhaps because the memories were too painful. It was enough for Shirley to bear them alone. She only needed to tell Adele the cause and effect, not make her experience the same pain.
It turned out that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) when Sodom was destroyed by the heavenly fire, a scene similar to the ancient flood played out. Individual souls, weak and fragile, would quickly dissipate and return to the world’s origin. But countless lives perished together, their souls lingering in Sodom, bound by their shared unwillingness.
The reason their souls remained intact, not twisting into monstrous forms like in ancient times and merging with the Human Queen, was that Sodom, fueled by faith, had developed its own will. If it hadn’t been destroyed, perhaps it could have attained divinity after eons of prosperity, baptized by belief.
Sodom’s will protected these souls, and Shirley contained this will within her own spiritual realm. That’s why Adele was seeing this now.
“Could it be...” Adele’s heart pounded with fear.
Shirley looked at her deeply, her tear-filled eyes firm. “I’m sorry.”
“This was my decision, my choice to burden you from the distant future.”
“If you must blame someone... blame me.”
“But please, I beg you...”
“Carry this will from the mythical era.” Shirley knelt before Adele, her forehead touching the floor of Sodom’s palace.
At the same time, the girls around her also knelt, lowering their once proud heads, paying their respects to their benefactor, Adele, from the distant future. After they knelt, the surrounding souls followed suit. Dragons, elves, dwarves, beastmen, all knelt and thanked Adele. Even a soft, cute little Cat-Bird, her soul seemingly simple, who had been grooming herself, seeing the other souls kneeling, not understanding what was happening—perhaps she didn’t even know she had perished in the heavenly fire—also turned over, kowtowed with her paws, and bowed her head to Adele, her golden wings folded.
This wasn’t just happening in the palace, but throughout Sodom. The bustling city fell silent. Every resident, regardless of age, gender, or race, pleaded with their only savior, begging Adele to carry this will, this destiny. They knew it wasn’t a gift, but a fate!
Adele felt a numbing current run through her, from the top of her head to her toes, making her tremble. She was deeply moved.
“Why suddenly...”
“I-I didn’t say no! I agree!”
“Everyone... please, don’t do this!”
“Shirley! You be responsible and tell them to get up!”
Shirley raised her head, tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. “Really, Adele?”
Adele blushed and nodded vigorously. “I already said so, it’s not a lie!”
“What a... silly older sister!” The little Cat-Bird wagged her tail, perhaps agreeing with Adele, perhaps unhappy that someone called her master a fool. Since this Cat-Bird wasn’t First Snow, and Adele didn’t have an intimate relationship with her, she couldn’t tell what the little creature meant.
So every Chosen Girl really is bound to one Cat-Bird.
Shirley stood up gratefully, and all the other souls rose with her. The immense pressure on Adele lessened, but her mind remained tense. Having seen Shirley’s memories, she knew what was coming: to bear the will of Sodom, the merging of the souls of all its residents, with this mortal body.
If the Philosopher King carried the fate of the ancient Human Race, then Adele would carry... the fate of all races from the mythical era. With their last strength, they would forge a peaceful and prosperous world for this era, this world, carrying forward the past and ushering in the future!
“I’m ready.” Adele nodded to Shirley. Words were unnecessary between the “sisters” now. In Shirley’s eyes, Adele had become the person she had hoped for.
The next moment, the fusion ritual began. Starting with those in the palace, they closed their eyes. Their ethereal, blue forms turned into countless specks of light, surrounding Adele like an unprecedented hurricane. With looks of relief, their souls were swept into the vortex. They cast one last gaze upon Shirley and Adele.
The little Cat-Bird, still not understanding, flapped her golden wings and landed on Shirley’s shoulder, nuzzling her head against Shirley’s cheek one last time. Though she couldn’t truly touch her, it must have touched Shirley’s heart. With tears in her eyes, she softly spoke the little Cat-Bird’s name.
The little Cat-Bird, content, wagged her tail proudly at Adele, and then, starting with her golden wings, she also turned into scattered light, joining the vortex.
Shirley looked up and saw the glazed dome of the palace shatter, countless golden rays shining from the blue sky outside, enveloping her and Adele.
“This is the sunset of that era.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Adele?” Adele looked at the distant sky and nodded in a trance. When she came back to her senses, Shirley was gone.
At the same time, a powerful force sent Adele soaring into the sky! She gasped, but realized she wasn’t falling! Instead, the torrent of souls surged into her heart.
Countless souls merged into Adele, and she screamed, not from pain... but from sadness. A boundless sadness surrounded her like a lonely ocean. The whole world was silent, leaving only herself.
It was as if she had returned to the beginning of creation. In this world, there was only herself.