Before Du Ze could think about it more, the gnome god had moved to the “Understanding” plaza and seemed intent on destroying the wheel of time.
That is the only thing in this world that is directly related to the God of Creation.
That was the only thought left in his brain as Du Ze pumped his legs and chased after Garl.
Seeing Du Ze running off, Xiu’s eyes widened. Xiu was still at the center of the plaza. He quickly stood up and followed Du Ze, trotting to catch up to him.
As a result, Garl became unhappy. His entire purpose was to prevent Xiu and the wheel of time from coming into contact. He was even prepared to destroy to wheel of time to prevent it. The gnome god jumped two times and his fingers drew a line between himself and Xiu. There was gust of wind and Garl’s jester cap shook as something invisible seemed to pass him by.
“!”
Xiu froze. His appearance was very awkward. His arms were stuck to the side of his body, as though he was tied up by an invisible rope. Xiu frowned and his little face crumpled up. “Let go of me.”
Garl made a face at Xiu and he said, in a tone as though he was joking with a good friend: “I will let you go when I get rid of the hidden danger.”
Garl’s target was only Xiu so Du Ze could still act freely. A silly, cute peron was startled and wanted to go to Xiu but the gnome god’s footsteps were quickly fading away. Du Ze turned back just in time to see the gnome god’s figure disappear into the street.
“Du Ze!”
When he heard Xiu scream his name, Du Ze realized that he had unconsciously walked several steps in Garl’s direction. After a moment, he regained his composure. Du Ze did not stop. On the contrary, he gritted his teeth and speed up his pace as he ran to the “Understanding” plaza, while behind him Xiu called out his name.
“Du Ze- !”
I’m sorry, Moe Lord! This little student believes that the ruler of the gnome gods will not hurt you! This might be the only chance to find the God of Creation.
Du Ze’s heart beat violently. He didn’t know whether it was because he was running or because of what was about to happen. His memory has never been clearer than at this moment. When Xiu was locked inside the gate of knowledge to learn the gnome language and forging, he went to the “Understanding” plaza, guided by Old John. That was where he learned the cause of the gnome race’s disappearance. Then because of someone acting cute, he touched the wheel of time and …
A dark void, a sound, and an hourglass, that’s all he saw in the wheel of time.
Du Ze, with his mouth open and gasping for air, felt like a fish out of water.
The gnome god said: The wheel of time was given to us by the God of Creation.
A loud ringing echoed in his brain and the hissed a message: The man who speaks to you in the dark … is the God who created this world.
The voice that comes out of that noisy interference, as though coming from a bad connection, is coming from the Creator God.
——Is this the correct conclusion?
Du Ze’s head buzzed as he tried to remember that sound. He had heard the intermittent sound more than once. Du Ze first heard that voice on the reverse side of the continent, when he nearly died to the Flame Lord. In that boundless, dream-like darkness, the other’s voice was indistinct and there was a background noise as though he was hearing a signal from an old phone.
[……You …… How…… Dying … Where are you …]
From those words, it seemed like the other person cares about Du Ze dying and was looking for him?
The second time Du Ze heard that voice, it was in the wheel of time at the Gnome Ruins.
[…… Why … The wheel of time …] The words sounded anxious but after short pause the voice seemed quite happy: […… I found you …]
The owner of that voice is looking for him, there is no doubt about that. If that person really is the God of Creation, then is the God of Creation looking for him? If so, that means that in the past the Creator God was looking for him. Now he is looking for the Creator God. Du Ze felt that this was darkly humorous but, at the same time, he was also at a loss. Why is the Creator God looking for him?
Is it because he’s not of this world?
Almost immediately, he thought of the last time he heard that voice. That was during the BOSS fight when he touched the god of light’s scepter and fell into an illusion of darkness.
[Do you know why you came to this world?]
Compared to the two previous occasions when there was a lot of background noise, this time the sound was as clear as whisper in his ear, faintly bewitching, intimate and encouraging. The owner of that voice is looking for him and, not only did he know that Du Ze does not belong in this world, but it looks like he also knows the reason why Du Ze came to this world. The other person seemed to be announcing his knowledge, as if he was reminding Du Ze of it and hinting at something.
Perhaps the only way to find out is to ask that voice directly. Du Ze arrived at the “Understanding” plaza and looked at the wheel of time. His heart was beating so hard that it was almost jumping out of his chest – he finally found an important clue.
Garl the clown stood at the bottom of the wheel of time. He bounced up and down a few times, likely to activate some sort of machine. With Garl at the center, a circle of force burst out through the ground in waves, sweeping through every nook and cranny of the Gnome Ruins. A dozen lightning bolts flashed and the aftershock blew the hair and clothes from Du Ze’s body, nearly blowing off his headphones. Du Ze hurriedly placed his hands over his ears and covered his face with the doujinshi to block the intense bright white light that filled the plaza.
The white light faded away. The “Understanding” plaza was a mess. The research papers from the lab were flying everywhere, most of them them charred or totally destroyed. Garl looked up at the unscatched golden wheel. His first attack failed but he was not discouraged. Garl stretched out his hand and was just about to launch another attack when he was blocked by Du Ze.
“Stop!”
Garl looked at Du Ze, who was standing in front of him. The gnome god shook his head, making the two small bells on his jester’s cap collide against each other. He said: “You can’t stop me. I have to destroy the wheel of time, it’s dangerous to gnomes.”
The golden metal of the wheel of time shone with a metallic luster, coldly reflecting the image of Garl’s sorrowful face.
“You wanted to know more about the Father, right?” he said. The gnome god pointed to the wheel of time, and spoke in a voice full of exhaustion and sadness: “Look, this is the gift the Father gave us.”
“In the sixth era, we gnomes created a mechanical civilization. The father praised this, praised my people and sent the wheel of time to the gnomes.” Garl’s voice gradually became lower and lower. “My people were ecstatic, not only because of the Father’s praise but also because the wheel of time is an artifact. Through the wheel of time, the gnome could finally study the law of time.”
“Regarding the mystery of time, we were all very curious and fanatically researched it.” Garl’s tone was flat, without any ups or down, like a eulogy. “On that day when the gnomes touched the law of time, the gnome race … was eliminated by ‘the rules’.”
Garl’s sigh was like Old John’s sigh when Du Ze asked him about the cause of the gnome race’s disappearance. Sometimes being too curious is not good.
“Only the gnome gods escaped that fate. That was when I understood that there are things we should not touch. Although this thought is disrespectful to the Father, I have always thought that if the Father had not given the wheel of time to gnome race, that would be good.”
Garl’s big eyes looked like they were about to fill with tears and he looked at the wheel of time sorrowfully.
“If that were the case, everyone would not have… vanished.”
Du Ze listened and even though he had guessed the reason for the gnome’s disappearance, it still felt creepy to hear the gnome god describe the way it happened. The gnomes are stubborn and inquisitive, eager to explore the unknown, and fanatical about their own research. Only the gnomes could have created such a brilliant mechanical civilization. The God of Creation used these qualities to give the gnome race a nice gift.
Maybe it could be said that the God of Creation simply wanted to send gifts and the gnome race’s excessive curiosity was what lead them to their demise. Du Ze might have thought that before he learned the story of the elves but now Du Ze feels that such a move is one that is truly worthy of the Ultimate BOSS. The God of Creation
The Creator God seemed to have a malicious intent towards all of the races: the gnomes died because of their curiosity,the elves lost their emotions, and if the beastkin’s madness was included, by his count that was three races who fell because of a “gift” from the Creator God – no one would know the weakness of each race better than the Creator of the World. Even Yi Ye Zhi Qiu wrote in his novel: the eight races, in order to acquire gifts from the God of Creation, paid a price by giving him one of their characteristics.
Now it seems that each of the eight races didn’t so much as give away a characteristic but created a weakness…?
Suddenly, Du Ze felt that something was out of place … something was wrong but he didn’t know what it was. However, there wasn’t enough time for him to think because Garl, who was beside him, had begun to move again. The gnome god went around Du Ze and put a hand on the wheel of time. His fingers were covered with metal precision machine tools. Garl cleverly moved his fingers at the junction of the gold and crystal parts of the wheel of time. He seemed to be disassembling it.
Even though Garl had a reason to do what he was doing, Du Ze still had to stop him because this an important clue.
“You can’t -”
Garl glanced at Du Ze and stretched out his index finger. Du Ze instantly felt an invisible strip of matter tying up his body. Before Du Ze could figure out what it was, the transparent things that had been wrapped around him suddenly began to tremble violently. This strange reaction surprised the gnome god who looked at Du Ze with astonishment and uttered a single syllable expression confusion: “Eh?”
All gnomes love to make different types of machines but they each have their own areas of expertise. In addition to his interest in invisibility, Garl’s studies are also about the integration of biological and mechanical systems. This field of study made it possible to endow mechanical puppets not just with mechanical characteristics but also the ability to think and judge for themselves.
The living machine that wrapped up Du Ze seemed to be fearful to the extreme. It was like an octopus who caught its prey only to find that the prey was its natural enemy. The living machine lost control of itself because of its terror and threw Du Ze away as though he was a live grenade that was about to explode.
Seeing that Du Ze was about to hit the wheel of time with such force that he would undoubtedly be badly injured, if not killed, Garl hurriedly tried to order the living machine to catch Du Ze. Unfortunately, the living machine was crazed with terror and unresponsive.
“!”
Garl missed his opportunity and Du Ze slammed into the wheel of time – he crashed into it. The ruler of the gnome gods was shocked when the wheel of time burst into a dazzlingly bright light and swallowed the black-haired youth once again.
Du Ze hung suspended in a silent darkness. This was strikingly similar to that time when the Moe Lord was trapped in the gate of knowledge and he accidentally fell on the wheel of time. Now that he had entered this place, Du Ze did not think too much about it and was determined to use this opportunity to find the truth about the master of the wheel of time once and for all.
Surrounded by darkness all around him, Du Ze hesitated for a moment as he gazed into the vast unknown, then very resolutely shouted into the darkness: “God of Creation?”
Du Ze’s voice was like a drop of water dripping into a pool of dark ink. Ripples spread out in a circle and it was eventually absorbed by the darkness. There was no response. Du Ze was uneasy – was his conjecture wrong? He was just about to try again when a slight static noise, soft as a breeze, passed into his ear.
[……]
Du Ze held his breath because even the sound of breathing might drown out the other’s words. The voices in the dark were unclear and muffled. If the signal was bad before, it was now very faint because of a total shortage of electricity.
[… You… Did you hear that… ]
Du Ze subconsciously nodded, but did not know whether the other side can see, so he said “mmm” softly. He spoke gently because the sound gave him the feeling that the signal might break off at any moment, leaving him in a precarious state.
“Are you the Creator God?”
[…… Yes …]
Du Ze felt as dizzy as though he had been hit in the head with a stick. He really was right about the Final BOSS – he had been in contact with the Creator God for a long time.
The one who spoke to him in the dark, who is looking for him and who knows his identity, is truly the God of Creation.
[…… You …]
The voice in the darkness broke off and Du Ze’s heart missed a beat. When the other person spoke again, it’s tone was very urgent, like someone being chased by something, desperate to convey an important message.
[Hurry up…! ]
“Bang!”
Du Ze stared blankly at the Garl and the shattered crystal and gold – it was the wreckage of the wheel of time. In that instant he had returned from that dark illusion to the Gnome Ruins. Du Ze stood unmoving amidst the fragments of the wheel of time and his thoughts were on the last thing the voice said: that sentence was clearly not finished. What did the Creator God really want to tell him?
Hurry what up? Hurry up and find him? Hurry up and leave? Hurry up and move forward?
… The type of person who only speaks the first half of the sentence is the worst! _(;з」∠)_
Now that he got more information, Du Ze felt even more annoyed. The Creator God’s voice seemed to be very anxious, making a silly, cute person even more anxious than before. The Moe Lord has almost finished the gnome trial yet all Du Ze got was a vague, crappy message. Du Ze scanned the remnants of the destroyed wheel of time. Do artifacts have a short shelf life? The wheel broke just like the scepter of the god of light. Based on the information he had right now, it was possible to infer that the scepter was made by the God fo Creation.
BOSS, your forging skill must be lacking. Regarding those two artifacts, these shoddy products are no good!
“You’re alright?”
Garl’s high-pitched voice caught Du Ze’s attention. The gnome god stood opposite Du Ze, eyes wide with shock as he stared at the black-haired youth. Du Ze’s excitement at meeting the Creator God finally cooled. What he has to do now is not to think over his encounter but to think about how to explain it to Garl or – Du Ze looked at the small figure at the entrance to the plaza – Xiu.
Xiu’s body was covered with blood. The seven-star mechanical puppet silently stood behind him like the shadow of death. After stepping into the plaza, Xiu threw away the machinery in his hand which made a chiming sound as it hit the ground. It was a strip of the living machine with blood pouring out of its broken end. Du Ze was relieved when he realized that the blood on Xiu was from the living machine. Du Ze breathed a sigh of relief but it was short-lived – the Moe Lord was staring at him and his expression was very angry.
Xiu stepped on a pool of blood. He made a series of small shoe prints on the ground as he walked towards Du Ze. Because the prints were made by blood, the trail was particularly horrifying.
Garl wanted to stop Xiu from approaching Du Ze but when he was about to move, Xiu shot the gnome god a look that made him freeze in his tracks.
The gnomes are a race of very stubborn people but eyes that cold – even the word “paranoia” is too mild to describe those feelings.
Du Ze looked helplessly at Xiu who was walking up to him slowly. The gnome’s face did not have the slightest hint of expression which made Du Ze feel fearful and apprehensive.
Xiu raised his head. He and Du Ze looked at each other. The amber-colored eyes were exceptionally bright, so bright that Du Ze didn’t know which was brighter, the gnome eyes or the blood.
“Don’t leave my sight. You promised, didn’t you?”
Du Ze swallowed nervously. Although his first instinct had been to go to the Moe Lord, it’s an indisputable fact that he had run off, abandoning the Moe Lord.
“I was looking for the God of Creation, the wheel of time is related to him.”
Xiu shot a look at the fragments of the wheel of time. The expression on his face was difficult to describe; it was full of intense dislike, unwillingness, and anger.
“…To you, the God of Creation is more important than me?”
Du Ze shook his head immediately. He wanted to tell Xiu that the reason he wanted to find the God of Creation was because of Xiu but that invisible force wouldn’t let him speak. Du Ze could only say: “I only care about you.”
“But you will abandon me because of the God of Creation.” Like a child who was left behind when his parents went to work, Xiu stubbornly asked: “If this were to happen again, you’d do it again, right?”
Du Ze could only remain silent.
“Ah…”
Xiu laughed and Du Ze shuddered. That strong killing intent was enough to rouse a man from a deep sleep. Obviously, Xiu’s killing intent was not aimed towards him but Du Ze’s scalp still turned numb with cold.
“Give me your hand,” said Xiu to Du Ze. His voice was soft but had a kind of deranged sweetness. “I’m going to make a chain and tie you up.”