"That flower... is the Flower of Eternity," a sudden voice echoed throughout his spiritual sea.
Daniel turned around the moment he heard the unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar voice, and saw a figure standing next to the flowerâonly a few centimeters away from him.
"I didnât even notice his presence," he swallowed hard.
"Greetings, Prophet," he bowed slightly out of respect.
Thatâs right. The man who had suddenly appeared was none other than the Prophet of the Eternity religion.
"This flower is called the Flower of Eternity. In truth, itâs the symbol and sign of the Path of Eternity. You wanted a Source, right? Well, this is it," the Prophet said calmly.
A mist covered his face, making his facial expressions completely unreadable.
"Thank you so much... Wait, how do you know I wanted a Source?" Daniel was startled for a moment.
"Donât be afraid, young man from the future. Did you forget? Iâm a demi-godâor well, by now I should just be called a god."
Daniel fell silent. This Prophet not only knew about his thoughts regarding a Source, but also knew that he was from the future. That meant he knew everything was just a simulation.
"Wait... what does it feel like when someone realizes a character is in a simulation?" Daniel wondered to himself.
"Nothing, really. Though maybe thatâs because of the level of power I possess. But at this stage, we can even sense when someone calls our nameâlet alone when someone tries to simulate us completely. My power simply goes beyond time and space," the Prophet replied calmly.
"I see... WaitâI said that in my mind! You can actually read thoughts? Thatâs really rude."
"Sorry, young man. Itâs not my fault. Itâs simply because youâre too weak to protect your thoughts."
Daniel didnât reply and instead emptied his mind of all thoughts.
"Haha, youâre a funny one," the Prophet laughed loudly at his reaction.
"Now that I have this flower, does that mean I can use the power of Eternity?"
"Thatâs right. However, this flower is very weak. Before borrowing the power of Eternity from it, youâd better give it some time to grow," the Prophet nodded.
"I understand. I didnât expect to gain something so incredible from the Final Absolution... Speaking of which, I had a question about it. Did the other Paragons actually go through the Final Absolution?" Daniel asked curiously.
He had now fully understood the requirements for the Final Absolution. First, a sufficient understanding of the Law of Eternity. Then, achieving the Transcendent Self. And lastly, receiving the Blessing of Eternity. He had completed the first two, but as for the last oneâhe didnât recall ever obtaining such a thing.
Although, looking at the Prophet now, he suspected that the blessing may have come from him.
Still, why hadnât he received any notification about it? Speaking of notifications... now that he thought about it, he had disabled them to focus on comprehending the Law of Eternity.
But that didnât matter now. The question was about the Paragons. According to what he had heard, the Final Absolution was required to become a Paragon. Yet he was sure none of the three Paragons had achieved the Transcendent Self.
Maybe he was mistaken?
"Youâre actually not wrong. None of them truly succeeded in summoning the Final Absolution. However, I needed successors, so I simply performed a lower-level ceremony that resembles it for them."
"Besides, âParagonâ is a stupid title I made up. Thereâs actually no such thing as a Paragon. I created it because I hated those clichĂ© names like Pope, Priest, or Cardinal. They didnât deserve to lead the Eternity religion. But since I didnât expect someone like you to appear, I had to choose them," the Prophet said mockingly.
Daniel didnât know whether to laugh or cry. He honestly hadnât expected that kind of answer.
"So all the Paragons are fake? That means I must be the only real successor to the Eternity religion now..."
"Thatâs right. And the thing that confirms your succession... is this flower," the Prophet gently stroked the flower.
"A flower? Then itâs more than just a simple Source."
"Itâs much more important than you think. In fact, this flower is a keyâa key that allows you to challenge the Pagoda of Eternity, just as I did and became the Prophet."
"Pagoda? So the Pagoda of Eternity is real too. That means you also obtained this flower... but how? The Final Absolution requires the Transcendent Self and the Blessing of Eternityâif Iâm understanding things correctly," Daniel said in surprise.
There were other possibilities, of course. Maybe the Prophet obtained the flower by a different method altogether.
But if he really got it through the Final Absolution, then the man standing beside him right now was nothing short of a monster.
Understanding the Law of Eternity wasnât that hardâit just required time and luck. The Blessing could be given by someone else.
But the Transcendent Self was different. For that, you had to become aware of your Past Self, Present Self, and Future Self.
Then you had to succeed in finding a way to merge them. The only reason Daniel managed it was because of the Prophetâs help.
"Youâre thinking too much. I also had helpâfrom the Spirit of the Pagoda of Eternity. But you donât need to know more than that... I just have one request for you. According to a prophecy I made about the future, the Eternity religion must have been destroyed and wiped out. I want you to rebuild it. But to do that, youâll need to go to the Pagoda of Eternity," the Prophet turned and looked at Daniel.
"Why does the religion get destroyed?" That was the question that had been on Danielâs mind ever since he entered the second floor.
"Youâre experiencing it... Just imagine all the things that happened during your time here, but without your presence. What kind of disaster would that be? Iâm sure before you leave this place, youâll face the real reason," the Prophet sighed.
"Then why donât you stop everything yourself?" Daniel asked before giving his final answer.
He just couldnât understandâwhy wouldnât the Prophet, with all his power, stop these things from happening?