Duality of Shadows-Chapter 999: Connection And Admiration

It was the end of the fourth day of the thirty during which the entrance to the World of the Higher Heavens remained unstable. During this unique period, deities could cross the threshold and enter the sacred domain, but once inside, no ordinary force could bring them back. Only a transcendent and incomprehensible power could accomplish such a feat.

On one of the nine continents, a group of deities had just reached the coast. Without hesitation, a female figure unfurled her golden wings, radiating light like a rising sun. With a single flap, she cut through space and vanished over the horizon.

Her destination was the largest and most central continent. Despite her colossal power allowing her to reach any location in under an hour, she had to dispatch her soldiers to the other eight continents to ensure the mission was completed within the few days they had.

That group of deities sighed. The entire ocean was shrouded in darkness since no sunlight touched this world. Yet, the waters still glimmered with light, a reflection from the stars of the universes.

In contrast, they gazed at the continent in surprise. It was bathed in intense light, as if it were sacred ground.

This particular continent was moderate compared to the others but still colossal, equivalent to the size of a massive divine planet in a universe.

The entire territory was wrapped in an unusual forest, exuding an aura of mystery and grandeur.

Within that forest, the landscape was a spectacle of colors and luminosity. Every plant, from the tallest tree to the smallest blade of grass, glowed with its own light, pulsating as if alive.

The hues constantly shifted, creating an unreal and hypnotic scene. All vegetation was formed from the 777 heavenly energies in their purest form, making the environment dazzling and intensely illuminated.

A thousand deities moved through the forest at breathtaking speed. Their eyes glowed with golden energy, and a translucent aura surrounded them, distorting the space around them. They advanced like arrows piercing the void, moving with purpose and urgency.

After two hours of uninterrupted travel, they spotted a village built around a colossal tree that dominated the landscape.

The tree, the size of a small city, stood majestically with intense orange bark and gentle yellow leaves that fluttered like calm flames. Its presence was comforting; a subtle and cozy warmth emanated from it, wrapping the travelers like a warm embrace.

Its branches, stretching hundreds of meters, supported numerous cabins delicately nestled among the leaves, forming a harmonious refuge.

The deities halted at the base of the tree, marveling at its magnificence. Many of them had been there before, but the laws of the World of the Higher Heavens erased those memories upon departure. So, for all of them, it felt like the first time, and the sense of wonder was inevitable.

Their eyes lifted to the imposing branches, where small floating figures hovered.

Some were bluish, white, or in other softer hues. Some took flame-like forms, others appeared as pure energy spheres, and a few adopted humanoid or beastly shapes. Their translucent bodies, resembling liquid light, made it clear that they were all one thing.

They were wisps, ethereal and malleable beings whose bodies were non-physical and could take on any form they desired, reflecting what was within them.

Apart from them, the only living beings in the World of the Higher Heavens were the deities. Because of the deities’ influence, the wisps learned from them about the world, chose a gender, and developed their own personalities. Their forms ended up mirroring the deities they interacted with.

Wisps were extremely curious and pure. Even the most malicious deities seemed to experience a softening inside themselves when interacting with them.

For the deities, it was an indescribable and inexplicable sensation. Nevertheless, they all felt a kind of destiny in helping these beings. Some taught the wisps to speak, shared their life stories, and formed strong bonds with them.

But... the deities learned the hard way that it was better not to get too attached.

Still, the wisps were their companions, and the deities couldn’t simply ignore them. All ended up dedicating their lives to studying the energies of this world and enjoyed talking and teaching the wisps about everything.

Harming them was practically impossible. The only energy in that world was celestial, and wisps seemed immune to any manifestation connected to it. Even when divine Dao was used to alter these energies... nothing happened to them.

As for tricking them or attempting something strange, there were always idiots who tried. However, other deities would band together and swiftly eliminate anyone with such intentions. People like that didn’t last long there.

All wisps had been created at once, at the beginning of everything. There were no births—billions of them had lived and inhabited the nine continents since forever.

All the continents were covered by vast forests, making it easy to find a wisp. However, to this day, around 80% of them lacked self-awareness or intelligence, living by instinct and moving randomly.

A rare few, after living millions of years in that state, would spontaneously develop rudimentary intelligence. Once that happened, they would find other wisps or a deity, join villages, and gradually start interacting with everyone and learning.

It was as if they had been empty before and, suddenly, by chance or fate, reached a new level. No one knew exactly how this happened, but once it did, their mental development progressed rapidly.

Unfortunately, this event was extremely rare, with only 1% of wisps managing to achieve it. The rest lived scattered across the continents.

In all nine continents, there were villages, although most of them remained empty. That was because, after gaining consciousness and interacting with both divinities and other wisps, it only took a few million years for them to become very intelligent.

Then... upon reaching a certain threshold, they were simply taken away by the laws to a destination unknown to them. So gaining consciousness and joining a village practically sealed their fate—eventually, they all disappeared.

Since only a few wisps gained consciousness, the villages would eventually be abandoned. As for the divinities... they could only mourn and move on.

The newly arrived divinities found a populated village, but something seemed off.

The queen had said that many wisps were scattered throughout the forest, but that wasn’t the case. They found them all here, gathered together.

"All together makes things easier. Prepare the chains," a beastly figure in humanoid form said dryly.

Everyone snorted, their eyes gleaming with an intense golden light. The queen, upon leaving them on the continent, had filled their meridians with power from her crown.

These divinities didn’t know how to manipulate the energies of this place, but the queen’s power did. Although they couldn’t use their Daos, the power they’d received made them just as formidable. And against these creatures, that was more than enough.

Immediately, golden chains formed in the hands of all the divinities. They coordinated, creating a circle around the massive tree.

With a cold gesture from the beastly figure, they all roared, and the chains shot into the sky, surrounding the immense tree. It was like forming a prison around the entire village nestled in the tree’s branches. The next second, the chains tightened, sealing the space.

On the tree, all forms of life stared at the golden chains, their bodies trembling. But... none of them ran or showed fear.

"Big brother..." a small wisp that resembled an elven boy murmured.

"Yeah, it’s alright," a calm voice spoke nearby, emerging from the void.

All the wisps turned toward the voice, their eyes sparkling. He was round and immense, but they all felt a deep connection and admiration upon seeing him.

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The whale nodded. With a simple, gentle motion of his hand, all the chains froze in mid-air.

The divinities widened their eyes as they felt their power completely subdued by an external force. And then...

*CRASH!*

"Wow..."

The little wisp murmured, and the rest of the village also seemed amazed. The chains exploded like golden, dazzling fireworks before them.

"Go back to your houses and stay inside. I’ll handle this. No one can see what’s about to happen," the whale said softly, taking a step forward.

They all nodded, too innocent to even think of disobeying. Without hesitation, nearly a thousand wisps entered their homes and shut the doors.

Meanwhile, the divinities looked upward... and their eyes shook as they saw that figure staring at them coldly.