306 The God Of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, And Existence [1]
After long, comfortable hours of peaceful slumber, I decided it was finally time to wake up.
I rubbed my eyes, waking up from my sleep, but to my astonishment… I wasn't in my room!
I wasn't in my bed!
I blinked my hazy eyes and looked around with an incomprehensible gaze. Very soon, a confused frown was strewn across my face.
Instead of my comfortable, king-sized bed, I found myself standing in an open castle hall with nothing but a vast blue sky above me.
Perplexed, I opened my eyes wide as the vestige of sleep disappeared from my tired mind, and I took in my surroundings.
Giant white marble pillars were erect all around me, bearing intricate patterns engraved in pure gold.
Books—countless books—filled the space, neatly arranged in lavish bookshelves that adorned this giant castle hall.
For a moment, I entertained the thought that I had somehow sleepwalked into the Morningstar family's library.
However, that was just the remnants of my sleep and nascent shock clouding the logical part of my brain.
The thing is, this library, or whatever it was, was too huge to be the Morningstar mansion. This hall stretched as far as my eyes were able to see.
Moreover, above me was a vast blue sky, when it should have been night or at least evening by now.
Yeah, I had to face the truth—I was definitely not home.
So, the pressing question remained: Where was I?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a voice rang in my ears, causing me to turn around.
"Welcome, Lucas Morningstar."
Startled by the sudden noise, I spun on my feet and saw a graceful silhouette seated atop an immense, high-rise throne that seemed to pierce the heavens.
The being's appearance defied logic.
His figure was enveloped in a halo of divine radiance and unholy darkness – an aura that seemed like a mixture of both profane and pure.
It was a being that ignited a myriad of feelings in my heart just from a glance… everything ranging from reverence to fear surged forth and I staggered back.
His skin shimmered with an ethereal luminescence, reminiscent of the soft glow of twilight.
With each breath he took, the air around us hummed with an otherworldly energy, carrying a subtle fragrance of unknown blossoms.
His eyes, deep and enigmatic, held a wisdom that hinted at secrets far beyond what my mortal mind could ever comprehend.
The silhouette was cloaked in robes that shifted between iridescent shades. He also wore a crown adorned with symbols I did not understand.
His hair cascaded like liquid silver, flowing in intricate patterns that seemed to have a life of their own.
When he spoke again, his voice resonated through the space around us, its melody both soothing and unsettling, pleasing and revolting, correct and wrong, beautiful and terrifying….
Unholy and divine…
"Welcome," he whispered, his words carrying a weight I couldn't fathom. "You wouldn't believe how long it has been since I had visitors."
I didn't listen to his words. I couldn't. My mind was too occupied with comprehending the full scope of this being's existence.
I had never seen a God. I've seen mortals who were so strong that they were called Gods, like my Master, but never an actual God-like existence.
Yet, I didn't need anyone to point out that what I was seeing before me was indeed a God, or at least the closest thing to one.
The radiant and dark halo around the being disappeared, finally making the vision of his visage clear.
And as soon as that happened, my eyes widened even more. Tha– That man… God… or whatever! I– I knew him!
The only difference was that the last time I saw him, he was completely and utterly unassuming in each and every way.
Ordinary… He was ordinary in every regard.
Now, however… It felt like now was the first time I actually looked at him. As if, his radiance was hidden in plain sight from me the last time I saw him.
Finally, I managed to find some words and choke out a single word. "Joe?"
"Thank heavens," the God-like being laughed from atop his throne.
Shifting and crossing his legs, he spoke again, "For a second, I thought you had forgotten the man who graced you with a transmigration chance."
I scoffed as a mocking chuckle escaped my lips despite my best efforts to stay silent.
"Graced me? You killed me! You shot me to death with a gun!" I refused. "And then dumped me in the body of a side-villain! Not even the protagonist!"
"Oh, I think you're selling yourself short. I believe everyone is the protagonist of their own story," Joe waved his hand with a dismissive smile.
"Is that so? Is that what you think? Then why give so many cheat abilities and plot armor to the protagonist?!" I yelled back.
The God-like being before me stayed silent for a few seconds before replying, "Okay, I guess that's a fair point. But I gave you a cheat too, didn't I?"
"That's not the point!" I spoke through gritted teeth. I stayed silent for a while, looking around, then asked in a calm voice, "Where am I?"
Joe smiled at my question, lingering for a few seconds before getting up from his throne and saying:
"You are behind Heaven's Gate. Rejoice, mortal. For you are the first of your kind to step into Arcadia, the Land of Gods, while still alive."
"Arcadia?" I frowned.
Noticing the look of confusion on my face, Joe began to explain:
"It's the name of this realm. There are many realms in this world. Some belong to Gods, and some don't. Arcadia is the realm where Gods were created."
Created? The frown on my face grew deeper upon hearing that word.
So not only were the Gods real, as I had suspected, but they weren't born. They were… created into existence?
But then… who was powerful enough to create Gods, who themselves were said to be the creators of everything according to the Elves?
As if reading my mind, Joe spoke, "That is not important right now. You will soon get to learn everything, anyway."
I craned my neck up and looked at the being standing there on a high-rise throne. I stayed silent for a few seconds before finally speaking:
"So you were indeed a God, just like I thought."
"Yes," Joe gracefully nodded in reply. "My real name is Joeveirian. I am one of the few last remaining TrueGods and the first son of the Primordials, Order and Chaos."
After a brief, dramatic pause, he continued: "I'm the God of knowledge, wisdom, fate, and existence. The sole King of Arcadia."
I looked at Joe– Joeveirian with a deadpan expression for a few long minutes before smacking my lips and saying, "So you're a big shot, is what you're telling me?"
The so-called God of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, and Existence stared at me for a few seconds before replying in an irritated tone, "Yes, Lucas. I'm a big shot."
Nodding, I asked, "Okay, so Mr. Big Shot, why am I in heaven? Surely, I am not dead yet, am I?"
"You are not dead," Joeveirian shook his head before whispering in a barely audible tone, "Well, not entirely."
My ears perked up at that whisper as I yelled, "Huh? What?! What does that mean?!"
Joeveirian made a guilty expression and said, "Well, mortals can only come to this place if they're chosen by the Gods here. But even then, they had to be dead. Even as the King of the place, I can't change the rules of the realm. So I kind of had to kill you in your sleep… just for a few seconds, though. So don't worry."
Don't worry?! Don't worry, he said!
I wanted to bark and shout and curse at this man!Throw pebbles at him! Reject one more of his novels from a competition!
Killing me once wasn't enough that he had to kill me again!
But since the man before me was literally a God, I choked down my curses and stayed silent, wearing a forced amicable smile.
After choosing my next words carefully and weeding out some angry curses that were going to slip in, I asked in a polite tone:
"Okay, so why did you call me here, O' King of Gods? Surely, you aren't suddenly in the mood for catching up, are you?"
"Catching up," Joeveirian scoffed.
He pointed to somewhere on the ground before me and said, "I have been observing you ever since. I know all that you've been up to. I don't need to catch up."
My gaze darted forward to the point where Joeveirian was pointing, and I saw a large, circular pool there. Inside it was a clear puddle of water that reflected the clear blue sky above.
It wasn't hard for me to imagine what that pool could do. So he had been keeping an eye on me, huh?
Well, the Edit Pen's description did ask me to create changes in the story that would please him. I guessed back then that the him in question was Joe.
So, of course, he had been watching me from the start.
Just as I reached that conclusion, Joe spoke up again, "I wanted to talk to you… about the path that you've chosen."
