“Phil, more than ten thousand years ago, the world of Vil also suffered an invasion by the gods of the Abyss. As you heard from Kasa, although you killed and sealed several of the gods of the Abyss, you yourself died, your soul and spirit destroyed. We cannot accept this fact.” A trace of pain appeared in Ansel’s golden eyes.
Phil Gray suddenly realized why the prophet of the Light of Wisdom had said he had seen pictures of monsters in some ruins dating back ten thousand years; it turned out he had already encountered one ten thousand years ago.
"During that invasion, the world of Ver was on the verge of collapse, with less than one in ten living beings remaining. All the civilizations you led us to build were almost destroyed, and the records about you were sealed away with your complete departure and the passage of time. Since then, a new civilization has begun to be conceived again, until today."
Phil Gray never expected this. He never imagined he would have such a past life, or rather, a past life before that.
"And then what happened? Why did I reappear on Earth?"
“Later, I spent nearly ten thousand years trying countless times at the bottom of the River of Fate before I finally managed to snatch a wisp of your soul from your fate line.” Ansel sighed. “I sent you to Earth so that you could live for yourself and no longer be burdened by the world of Will, hoping you could live a peaceful life.”
"But I didn't expect to be courting death, did I?"
“No, I probably foresaw this outcome. No matter where you are or what your identity is, you will always remember Will, so you will be attracted by the statues of the gods of the Abyss and embark on the same fate as always.” Ansel said with some helplessness.
"I see. So, what was my original name?"
“Phil, the creator god of the world of Ver is named Phil. This body of Phil Gray was originally prepared for you.” Ansel smiled gently. “As for the Phil Gray you think he is, or the original owner, he doesn’t have this name, and he looks different from you now. I only slightly altered his fate line before, so everyone thought he was like you. Once everything is over, if he comes back to life, he will return to normal.”
Phil Gray was somewhat dazed. How come I'm still me? But then his eyes hardened again, because he finally knew all his identities.
"Brother, now that you know everything, please don't leave us like you did before." Kasa couldn't help but throw herself into his arms.
Phil Gray stroked her soft hair, lowered his head, and looked directly into her eyes: "Sweetie, don't cry. Although I don't remember what happened ten thousand years ago, my choice is the same. Kasa, can you fight alongside your brother? Let's protect this world together and protect all life?"
Kasa rubbed his eyes, looking at Phil Gray's determined gaze, knowing that no matter what he said, he couldn't convince his brother, and his brother was indeed not a god who would run away in the face of battle.
Fight alongside him? Live or die together?
She was caught in a dilemma. So many years had passed, and she was no longer the little girl she used to be. She protected her believers and healed all the wounds in the world, but she could never forget the scene of her brother disappearing in front of her. It was a wound that even she was helpless to heal.
However, she didn't want to hurt her brother's feelings, nor did she want him to think of her as a selfish god.
"Okay." Kasa raised his head and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Brother, I want to protect this world with you."
As Kasa's voice faded, her form changed continuously, returning to the shape of a tree. Soon, the tree gradually coalesced into a light brown wooden armor, with emerald green patterns engraved on it, radiating a powerful life force.
"Brother, I will be your shield, your armor, I will never let you get hurt!"
Phil Gray smiled and stretched out his hand, the armor perfectly covering his entire body.
The illusion gradually dissipated, and his figure disappeared from the living room.
The door creaked open, and Vino, dressed in black, walked in with his arms crossed. "Are you really sure?"
Ansel looked at the vanished figure and said, "This was not my decision. It was already destined the moment his soul appeared in the river of fate."
"You're really willing to spend that much," Vino chuckled.
"No, this time it's different, we will achieve final victory."
"Is this also a predetermined fate?"
"yes."
"Alright, we should go. The old man is still struggling to hold on. Wait, you probably don't want to go back, right? It's the same whether you go back or not."
"..."
...
Phil Gray opened his eyes, and the armor covering him was still there, which made him realize that everything that had just happened was real.
He stood up, looked at the statue of the God of Life before him, and silently murmured in his heart, "Kasa, your brother will fight alongside you to defeat the gods of the Abyss, and will build you a better house."
Turning around, he saw the Pope of Life staring at him in a daze.
"Hello? What's wrong?"
"You...you..." The Pope of Life uttered the word "you" twice, unsure of what to say next.
The person before them not only caused the statue to tremble, but also suddenly appeared in a suit of armor containing powerful life force.
But this person is not a chosen one of the gods of life at all!
Could it be that the gods are giving him a hint?
"Pope Phil, what is your opinion of the Church of Life?"
Phil Gray smiled helplessly. "The Church of Life has done a very good job under your leadership. We also thank you for your help to Destiny in the past. In the future, Destiny, Dawn, and Death will continue to cooperate amicably with your church. Please rest assured. I did see the God of Life just now, and He praised you for doing a good job."
"Hmm..." Although the Pope of Life appeared calm on the surface, he was actually overjoyed inside. "Good, that's good. You've met our god, so it seems you've achieved your goal?"
"Yes, I'll take my leave now."
"I wish you all the best, and thank you for everything you've done to protect this world." The Pope of Life knew he was fighting against the evil god who had invaded Weir, and bowed solemnly as he departed.
"I think I just had a dream." Night yawned and nestled into Phil Gray's hat.
"Oh? What kind of dream?"
"I dreamt that I went to a magical place. There was a square thing there, and inside it were all sorts of interesting scenes, as well as delicious crunchy things," Night said excitedly.
"That was not a dream, but an illusion created by the god of life."
"ah?"
"It seems that not all the gods present are conscious."
"What what?"
“In that illusion, Kasa told me everything, including my true identity.”
“Alright, now that you’ve obtained the power of life, it’s indeed time for the final moment.” Night jumped to the ground. “After returning to the Church of Destiny, it’s time for us to sign the contract.”
"Alright, but now that we're at the Church of Life, we still need to go somewhere first."
"Where? What are you going there for?"
"Fulfill a promise."
...
In the cemetery of Durr.
"Long time no see, you seem to have grown a lot in the meantime."
The old man's soul slowly emerged, just like that snowy winter day.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance back then. I wanted to tell you something today. There's a spirit, possibly your disciple, who has been searching for you in the Abyss. If you're going to the Abyss, you can find him in the City of Ten Thousand Bones..."
"I understand. My mission here is over. I will go find him. Thank you."
The old man smiled kindly.
"Was the acquaintance you mentioned back then Wilder?"
"It's that Death Knight. Actually, we're not exactly acquaintances; we've just traveled together a few times by chance. I agree with some of his views, and I consider him my friend."
It seems that Pope Nicol had no idea of Wilde's true identity. Phil Gray chuckled but did not expose him.
"He probably considers you a friend too. I have other things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. We'll meet again in the Abyss when we have the chance."
Phil Gray said a polite goodbye.
"Okay, everything went smoothly."
Pope Nicol bowed slightly, watched his retreating figure, and offered his blessing.
Inside the Papal Palace in North City.
The man and the cat sat facing each other. Phil Gray reached out his hand, and Night stretched out her little paw to cover his hand. Although he wanted to touch the cat's paw pads, he refrained from doing so.
The night was singing a meowing song, perhaps a unique divine language. The power of the night enveloped them, and Phil Gray soon felt a connection with the night.
"This is a master-pet contract. After signing it, you can use the power of Dark Night, and you can also directly use your consciousness to transmit what you want to say to me, so that we can cooperate better when we fight."
The voice of the night echoed in his mind, while the cat in front of him was still licking its paws, not opening its mouth.
“Okay.” Phil Gray tried a few times and easily mastered the communication method.
"Alright, now try to mobilize the power of all the main gods to merge them."
“Wait a moment. Before I can fully integrate the power of the six main gods, I still need to obtain the power of one more god,” Phil Gray said after a moment’s thought.
"The God of Knowledge and Wisdom? Actually, once the power of the six main gods is complete, the power of these secondary gods is not important. Besides, didn't you fail to find the last pen? Or should we go directly to His divine kingdom to find Him?"
“No, although He is only a god, I think knowledge and wisdom are also extremely important in battle, and may even be the key to our victory.” Phil Gray smiled. “Who says we haven’t found the fifth pen? Isn’t that right?”
He looked at the pen that Phil Gray casually picked up from the table, examining it several times in disbelief, thinking it was just an ordinary quill pen that Bishop Dominic had casually handed over.
"Since the god of knowledge and wisdom has not said what the fifth pen is or what it looks like, why can't I say that this pen is the fifth pen?"
"This last pen is called the Pen of Nothingness."
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