However, achieving this goal was clearly not going to be easy—
Liu Yu looked at the young man’s profile, so beautiful that it often left people in a daze. Before she could finish a sentence, she was pushed aside again.
These high-ranking clergy members, who were usually rare and aloof, now swarmed in like cheap cabbages. They gazed at Gaia with the fervent, treasure-hungry eyes of a wealthy landowner, speaking to him with reverence and passion.
"Your name is…"
"Gaia."
"Oh, Gaia?… Just like the God of Light… How remarkable…"
Liu Yu glanced down at the white dress she had carefully chosen before leaving home and could only stand there waiting.
This wait unexpectedly brought the arrival of the Archbishop.
In this world, apart from the ocean, there was only land.
Each landmass had a Temple of Light, and the Archbishop, the highest authority in the temple, was the closest to the divine, holding a status far above that of any king.
Most of the time, the Archbishop remained in the temple, ready to receive divine revelations at any moment—
Yet now, the Archbishop of the Elven Continent’s Temple of Light had come in person.
The room fell silent, the previously chaotic atmosphere now as quiet as a tomb.
Liu Yu watched as an elderly man, holding a Star and Moon Scepter and clad in a Star and Moon Aura Robe, entered like a moon surrounded by stars.
His hair and beard were white, his face weathered with age, but his calm and wise eyes seemed to say, "There’s more to me than meets the eye."
The White-Robed Divine Envoys and Golden Knights filed in behind him.
They were solemn and orderly, the envoys holding scepters and the knights with swords at their waists, turning the room into a radiant hall.
Yet Liu Yu noticed that even these dignified figures seemed to shrink in stature when they stood before Gaia.
"Gaia?" The Archbishop approached him, his eyes kind. "Would you like to come with me to the Temple of Light?"
"And you are?"
"Bruce, the Red Archbishop of the Temple of Light on the Elven Continent."
"Archbishop Bruce, I am but a blind man."
"No, no, the Holy Light is everywhere. The God of Light has bestowed upon you a body of Holy Light, surely for a purpose.… You may enter the Academy of Light, where you can study divine prophecies, divine magic, and explore the mysteries of this world…"
Bruce looked at him gently. "One day, you will find the answers."
"Anything is possible?"
"Yes, the God of Light is omnipotent."
Liu Yu, standing nearby, was utterly confused, thinking that all religious figures must speak in riddles.
Yet this cryptic conversation seemed to resonate with Gaia.
He placed his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed gracefully:
"Please allow me to bid farewell to my companion."
He walked through the crowd and stopped precisely in front of Liu Yu:
"Beiliya, I must go."
"Go? Now?"
"Yes, it’s time."
Liu Yu looked up at him. The young man’s expression was calm, showing no trace of reluctance, as if he were simply discussing what to eat for dinner.
His decision was final and unchangeable.
Liu Yu understood the implication and realized that her actions from yesterday to today had not set her apart from others—
To him, she was not special.
He could leave her without a second thought.
Her voice dropped:
"But you promised to accompany me to the God's Favored One test. Gaia… Are you leaving me too?"
"Beiliya," Gaia sighed deeply. "Our meeting was arranged by the God of Light. And now, our parting is also His will."
Bullshit.
This was something she had forced.
Liu Yu softly said, "Oh," and as Gaia turned to leave, she grabbed his arm.
"Beiliya?"
Gaia asked in surprise.
"Sorry, Gaia."
She wanted to become a true God's Favored One.
Liu Yu stood on her tiptoes and, before he could react, gently kissed him.
"Beiliya—"
Liu Yu didn’t let go. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck like vines, and she pressed her lips more firmly against his—
Then, she bit down hard.
"…Mmm."
Gaia groaned.
His hands on her arms hesitated for a moment before firmly pulling her away:
"Beiliya, this is wrong."
The girl lowered her head, then quickly raised it again. Her cheeks, pink like roses, flushed crimson. She covered her mouth and stumbled back, shaking her head in confusion:
"I’m sorry, Gaia… I don’t know what came over me… The thought of leaving you makes me so reluctant… What if I fail the God's Favored One test? I’ll never see you again…"
Her voice was filled with endless sorrow and despair, as if she had no hope for the future.
Indeed, God's Favored Ones were rare, appearing only once in tens of thousands.
The Academy of Light was not open to the public, and once he entered, they would be separated forever.
No one would blame a young girl for her infatuation, even if she lost the grace and composure expected of a noble in public.
But Gaia did not respond to Liu Yu’s "infatuation."
He placed his right hand over his heart and bid her a graceful farewell before turning to follow Archbishop Bruce out.
The White-Robed Divine Envoys and Golden Knights surrounded him, and the group left in silence.
Those remaining in the room couldn’t help but glance at the bold noble girl. Her rare beauty and obvious sorrow made her all the more pitiful.
"Miss Fergus, are you all right?"
The person who had initially greeted her asked.
Liu Yu discreetly tucked away the memory bead in her hand and forced a smile:
"Thank you, my badge."
No one noticed the transparent glass bead in the girl’s hand, nor the faint trace of blood on it, which was slowly fading—
As if being absorbed by something.
"Of course, Miss Fergus, please wait a moment."
The clergy handed over the golden iris badge and sincerely wished her success in the upcoming God's Favored One test.
"Thank you."
Liu Yu, pale-faced, returned to the carriage.
"Miss Beiliya, where shall we go now?"
"Back to Soren Academy."
Liu Yu ordered expressionlessly.
She looked at the glass bead in her hand. It would take until evening for the red blood to be fully absorbed by the bead.
By then, the barrier of the memory bead would disappear.
She needed the memories of the God of Light.
She needed to find a way to deceive the crystal and become a false God's Favored One—only then could she enter the Academy of Light, continue to interact with Gaia, and eventually become a true God's Favored One.
Stealing the memories of a god was an unforgivable sin—
Liu Yu knew this and was willing to accept any punishment.
The one thing she could not bear was to live as a weakling who could be trampled upon and discarded at will.
Late at night.
As the last trace of blood was absorbed by the glass bead, a soft "pop" echoed, and the world transformed.
Liu Yu felt her body lighten, her soul floating in an endless sea of clouds.
Everything around her was white—the sky, the ground—except for a faint golden glow in the distance.
Liu Yu drifted toward the golden light for what felt like an eternity before she saw a ladder made of clouds.
It was truly a ladder of clouds, stretching endlessly, with birds singing on its steps. She stepped onto the ladder.
The moment her foot touched the ladder, the sensation of floating vanished.
Liu Yu saw her bare feet, her pure white Grecian gown, and her golden, wavy hair.
She continued to climb until the birds’ songs faded, and she reached a lake.
The lake was as blue as a flawless sapphire, tinged with gold, so beautiful it seemed otherworldly.
Liu Yu stopped.
She saw a figure standing there, tall and upright, as cold as frost and as enduring as a mountain, exuding an aura that made one dare not look directly at him.
Liu Yu instinctively lowered her eyes, but the image of that fleeting glance lingered in her mind.
He stood there, his silver hair nearly reaching the ground, shimmering with flecks of gold like rippling water.
His pure white robe billowed in the wind, the sunlight and breeze serving as his humble attendants. He gazed into the distance, solitary and cold.
Liu Yu couldn’t imagine anyone else this could be but the God of Light.
She hadn’t expected the memory bead to contain something like this.
The figure turned around.
A pair of green eyes met hers, more beautiful than any she had ever seen. When you looked into them, words failed.
She seemed to see mountains and rivers, stars stretching endlessly, the vastness of time and the cycle of the sun and moon; she even saw the long, silent nights and the cold, solitary life.
But in the moment their eyes met, that person waved their hand, and Liu Yu felt herself drifting away once more, until she fell to the ground:
She woke up.
The glass bead was still in her palm, and the trembling, fearful, yet excited blood was still coursing through her veins.
Liu Yu shakily sat up and, with great care, tied the memory bead around her neck, letting it hang alongside the speckled feather.
She never expected that the true form of the God of Light would be so...
Liu Yu couldn’t find any words to describe it, feeling as though any term she used would be a desecration.
She simply felt that this was how a god should be—majestic and untouchable.
However—
Just as she was about to leave, she had a sudden inspiration on how to deceive her way through.
It wasn’t difficult.
By introducing a medium tainted with dark energy into her body, she could awaken the divine power within the memory bead and the feather, using their absolute divine force to expel the darkness and trigger the crystal ball’s resonance—
In other words, fighting fire with fire.
The urgent task now was to find an object imbued with dark energy.
Time quickly advanced to the day of the God's Favored One trial.
Nickname:
