There are always those who speculate on the end of the gods, whether it's the arrival of a new era after the twilight of the gods, or disappearing into the void of three thousand worlds without return. However, what even the Eastern immortals themselves never anticipated was that it would be the mortal beings they once prayed to who would ultimately bring about their demise, mortals who yearned endlessly for the immortal realm.

Descending to the mortal realm, or rather the three immortal mountains of the Main Dimension in the Eastern Continent, are only briefly mentioned in current records. Most people consider them nothing more than ethereal legends from ancient times.

At that time, Minglin was barely over ten years old - despite being born in the immortal realm and possessing immortality from birth, both in terms of mentality and experience, she was still just a child. When the so-called "Earth Immortals" descended with floating swords, the immortals, still in a daze from the strange changes in the laws, had not even realized what they were about to face next.

The Earth Immortals, standing on their flying swords, looked down on the three immortal mountains from the sky. The immortals, unable to refine their magic power due to their immortality, could only look up from the ground. This subtle and ridiculous scene, whether in the past or in the future, was probably unprecedented.

Extinct spells fell from the sky like meteors, and the immortals, who originally could easily dispel such attacks, could only helplessly succumb one by one to the onslaught, with no power to fight back. After that day, there were no longer any gods in the East.

"Greed," Minglin swallowed the dried sweet potatoes in her mouth, looking into Aya's eyes, where shock was still hidden. "The greed and caution of humans, their fear and ruthlessness, are truly... unprecedented."

It was out of greed that almost all the powerful beings in the East Land cultivation world at that time participated in the expedition to the immortal mountains.

Out of caution, the first round of attacks on the immortal mountains led to the sinking of two of them at all costs.

Out of fear, they chose to attack without any communication with the "immortals," an existence they had always pursued but were unfamiliar with.

Out of ruthlessness, they conducted a virtual slaughter of the immortals on the island at that time.

Caution arose from greed, fearing to lose any advantage, while ruthlessness stemmed from fear, afraid of the unknown.

"So that's why you hate humans?" Aya asked tentatively.

"Who knows?" Minglin's eyes showed a flicker of doubt for a moment, but immediately returned to the smile that Aya had always seen, pointing at her own head.

"Didn't the other me tell you? Neither she nor I have complete memories. The only clear thing is the wish in our hearts when we are split apart."

Aya fell silent again. He didn't know much about East Land, but if what Minglin said was true - that the once lofty gods fell to the hands of mortals in the dust... it must be unimaginable for him and all the races of the Western Continent.

To be honest, he was starting to get curious. What kind of place is the East, really? The Yuan who originally caught him had planned to go to the East after capturing him. Maybe in the future, if he had the chance, he could also go there for a visit?

No, no, no, that's not the point. Aya, who was slow to react, realized that something was not quite right with his current situation. Shouldn't he be the one being hunted down? Why was he chatting with someone who should have been his enemy here?

Unfortunately, he was not good at dealing with such situations. If Minglin had suddenly attacked without a word, he could have just turned and run. But now, she seemed to have no intention of attacking him, and Aya felt too embarrassed to just walk away from her. Ultimately, the main reason was that from the very beginning, he never sensed any hostility from the girl - whether they were chatting like friends now or when she summoned elemental creatures to attack him before.

Have those dark elemental monsters not caught up yet? They're so slow!

Not long ago, Aya, who was worried about the Dark Shaped Ones catching up too fast and not having much time to rest, now surprisingly looks forward to the Dark Shaped Ones breaking the status quo.

"Hmm... Let me think about what else is interesting."

Minglin seemed to want to make an effort to search her fragmented memories, but soon gave up with a sigh.

"Never mind, I was thinking of chatting a little longer, but it's almost time anyway."

"Time?"

Aya was confused, not understanding what Minglin was referring to.

"The time for my children to flatten the last hiding place of humans." The girl wiped her mouth, took two light steps back, and performed an ancient oriental ritual towards Aya.

"There's something I didn't tell you... No, she shouldn't know about this."

"Both myself and her, we have existed for quite a long time, but during all these years, both myself and her have been immersed in our little worlds, stubbornly following our own wills, even though we knew of each other's existence without any intention of merging."

"But it's strange, there was a moment when both of us seemed to awaken to some new consciousness, suddenly developing a desire to break free from our little worlds."

"Our wills are the source of our power, and initially because my hatred for humans was stronger, I received more power than her. The other me probably brought your companion back into her world to strengthen her will in order to suppress me during the fusion."

"But it's a pity," the girl smiled, "we were never equal beings to begin with. I have always had a stronger will than her. Anything she can think of, how could I not think of it?"

Aya, finally realizing the problem, felt her scalp tingling. What she had initially sensed as a subtle discomfort now fully manifested.

From the beginning, Minglin of this world only had the will to exterminate humans; it was only the extinguishing of Sea Moon that allowed her to truly achieve this.

Minglin stepped forward, raised on tiptoes, and patted Aya's head. "My only concern is that the other me might merge her part of the obsession with faster speed than me, but now it seems I overestimated the other side's pace. So whether I send you to Seabreath or not makes no difference."

"So there's no need to feel guilty. After all, this world is just a fabricated illusion."

Well then, let's return to the real world next and let them experience true fear. Minglin silently added in her mind as her figure gradually faded in Aya's complex gaze.

...

The world of the seven-day cycle.

This was the central square of Seabreath, decorated with lights and vibrant colors to welcome the final highlight of the festival, the God Praying Dance. The round stage was surrounded by the original residents of the town and visitors who had come to witness the event.

"Ohhh! Finally, it's time to see the results!"

Also standing under the stage, eagerly awaiting Ayako's appearance, Tiran clenched his fists and waved them gently in encouragement to Ayako, who was waiting backstage at this moment.

She must be exhausted for today's performance, almost working herself to a frenzy to deal with the troublesome music and lighting issues, and had to diligently convince Ayako to wear the outfit she deemed "super embarrassing" and "unmarriageable."

Ah, if this Morninglight is really some kind of existing country, it probably belongs to ancient times, right? Such conservative ideas... If Ayako hadn't strongly opposed, she would have wanted to shorten the hem of the dress a bit more...

Watching Ayako's blushing cheeks and the Lord of the Tairaeda family's face darkening like the bottom of a pot upon seeing his daughter in her performance costume, the Princess gracefully withdrew her proposal.

Finally, the moment arrived for Ayako to take the stage, and Tiran, holding his breath, began a mental countdown.

Three, two, one.

As the audience surrounding the stage waited in anticipation, a few individuals suddenly emerged from the crowd, carrying pre-prepared sand buckets that they used to extinguish all the torches providing illumination within the performance area, leaving only moonlight in the square in an instant.

Yet, before any unrest could begin among the audience, the performance on the stage commenced.

Concealed by the edge of the stage, fireworks suddenly shot out several brilliant golden sparkles, instantly captivating the gazes of the onlookers.

As the fireworks faded away, Tiran, who had spent the past days procuring a sizable sum of money with the Tairaeda family crest, kicked aside the musicians who were originally in charge of the music for the divine ritual dance, and began strumming a traditional Morninglight instrument similar to a guitar, stirring the audience's spirits.

"Though I had seen it before, the live effect seems remarkably effective..."

With the music starting, Ayako also swiftly caught on and began her performance before the light from the first round of fireworks dissipated.

Knowing they lacked modern lighting systems, they had to make do with what was available. Pre-set fireworks combined with reflective materials on the performance costume made Ayako the sole shimmering figure in the entire space, creating a visually stunning impact.

"Then, throw in the prepared temporary workers..."

As the music reached a crescendo, people in the audience started waving glowsticks, emitting incomprehensible but perfectly coordinated cheers, smoothly elevating the atmosphere and engaging the audience.

This diversion successfully shifted the focus from Ayako's dance skills.

With a final spin, a graceful pose, and timely fireworks bursting on both sides, the atmosphere peaked.

"Wow!!!"

The torches around the square were reignited, bathing the area once more in warm firelight. Ayako, standing on the stage after finishing her dance, chest heaving, felt her heart pounding like a drum.

Looking down at the crowd now thoroughly enthralled, Ayako hesitated for a moment, suddenly feeling at a loss to describe her emotions. Was it pure joy and contentment? Or was there something deeper lingering...?

Ayako suddenly felt like she had forgotten something important, yet couldn't recall what it was.

...

"How was that, a beautiful performance, don't you think?"

Tiran, who had slipped away from the venue, boastfully addressed Mingling after successfully completing the task and bringing her to this small world.

"Indeed, I can clearly sense Ayako's satisfaction and happiness." Mingling nodded, a tinge of bitterness in his smile.

"But it seems I was just a step too late."