Venterus felt as if an invisible flame was quietly consuming his soul as he passed through the "Gate of Light" that had opened for him earlier later. A burning that burned his consciousness and his very soul, each pulse a spark in infinite darkness.
He was conscious... very conscious, feeling everything around him, despite the temporal and spatial distortions that surrounded him, as if the world was fading away around him, but he was the only one still observing and feeling.
This burning wasn't a torment, but a transformation, an attempt to adapt consciousness to the current universe. At the end of the "Gate of Light" that had opened for Venterus earlier, he found himself floating in a space where galaxies were scattered like randomly scattered stardust. They weren't just stars, but worlds, universes, and each universe contained countless universes within each one, An infinite separation that diminishes nothing from the Source's energy, The laws of this space knew no deficiency, no matter how many universes were scattered.
In that empty universe, with the sounds of majestic energies colliding as if a maintenance operation were taking place somewhere, there were eyes that were focused with Venterus, silently watching his steps.
Venterus spotted a tunnel radiating a bright light near one of the galaxies. He headed toward it and stopped when he was close to the light tunnel, Then, with his right hand, he advanced toward the light, which pulled him into the depths of the tunnel. All Venterus saw were energies of many colors within it, with majestic sounds echoing within the tunnel.
Venterus felt the pressure as he was pulled by the light tunnel, and the heat became more intense than before, Venterus closed his silver eyes for a moment, feeling completely calm, the pressure completely gone, He could only hear whispers around him as he closed his eyes, His consciousness came and went, over and over again.
The moment Venterus opened his eyes, he found himself in a new incarnation, In the form of a small child, surrounded by people whispering in a language he didn't yet understand, he tried to maintain his consciousness, but he couldn't... Then Venterus fell asleep.
The child began to cry, Worry spread across the faces of the maids as they looked at the child, "Li Yan," as if he were a bad omen for the family. However, joy was on their faces as they looked at Li Yan's twin brother, " Li Yun."
In the kingdom of Wu Zhou , far away among the gray mountains, they worshipped the "Heavenly Yin" and believed that pure blood brought good luck and blessings, However, they saw Li Yan as a bad omen, His glowing black eyes were seen as a bad omen, even though they were natural.
It was his mother, who loved him despite everything, who gave him the name "Yan."
Amidst that heavy silence, ancient whispers crept between the palace walls, One of the maids said in a low voice, as if afraid the walls themselves might hear her:
"The child's eyes... are frightening..."
In every corner of the palace, seeds of doubt and fear were planted, and Li Yan was ostracized.
When Li Yan and Li Yun were infants, their mother suddenly fell ill, a mysterious illness that the clan could not explain, The mother lay dying, and with her last breaths, she asked the maids to bring the children, feeling as if she were taking her last breath, She looked at the children with calm, sorrowful eyes, then whispered,
"Save your souls... Don't let the darkness swallow you, my children."
Li Yan grew up in the cold shadow of the clan and the constant looks of suspicion. He did not understand the hostility and ostracism with which everyone treated him. Despite his black eyes, which radiated life, everyone who saw them felt a strange coldness and an incomprehensible ominous omen..
After their mother's death, the maids left Li Yan alone most of the time, focusing all their attention on the other twin. The maids considered Li Yan a curse on the family, and his presence became an unbearable burden, There was no one to care for him properly, and he lacked the warmth and affection that any child needs.
Sometimes, he would cry silently in the dark corners of the palace, Other times, he would watch his twin brother, Li Yun , receive all the love and attention, while he remained an invisible shadow.
Li Yan grew up amidst the deadly silence of the palace, growing feelings of alienation and rejection. But he learned that silence was a more powerful tool than words, and that waiting behind the shadows was better than facing hostility directly.
LI Yan came to realize that he had to rely only on himself, Within his heart lay a hidden, unquenchable flame, a flame of determination that would one day lead him to his true destiny, despite everything the clan tried to impose on him.
Whenever he tried to get close to his twin brother, Li Yun, he only encountered coldness and contempt. He felt loneliness wrap around him like a heavy cloak, suffocating him with its silence. "An emotional child, you only know how to cry," Li yun An would say to him, looking at him with mockery and contempt.
In the dark rooms, Li Yan would cry. He didn't cry out loud, but he would silently groan, excusing everyone who had hurt him and accusing himself of being the cause of their harm because he was "cursed" and a frightening being.
But in the shadow of this Neglect. There was only one person who could see him, touch his presence, and try to light his way no matter how dark it was.
Feng Lu, a man whose family had served him for generations, didn't fear Li Yan, but embraced him like his own son, smiling warmly whenever he saw him. Feng Lu told him stories of the power of the spirit and of a world beyond the narrow confines of the clan and its beliefs. He taught him how to read the stars, how to listen to the wind, and how to protect his inner light from the darkness of the world.
As Li Yan was crying silently in the garden, Feng Luo spotted him, sat beside him, and whispered soothing words:
"Little one, there is always good and evil in this world, so you, in turn, must accept both sides."
Looking toward the sky, he continued in a calmer, gentler voice, "The world is a place where the strong devour the weak... but you don't have to remain weak. Sometimes, you must become the monster that frightens even your own shadow, to forge a path for yourself in this darkness."
He then placed his hand gently on Li Yan's shoulder and added in a tone of quiet defiance:
"Don't let anyone define your worth, and don't allow your pain to be your prison. Your true strength lies in your ability to rise again and again, no matter how hard they try to crush you."
He continued, "God hasn't truly determined whether you're a curse or not. In my view, you're a child of God because you're the only one who feels and empathizes among all these demons hiding behind a human shell."
Li Yan looked at Feng Luo with his glowing black eyes, then said in a calm but deeply questioning voice:
"Is there really a God of this world?"
Feng Luo smiled bitterly, looked far into the distance, and said in a calm but sharp tone:
"Perhaps it's just an illusion created by humans, a pathetic attempt to give meaning to their lives, a hope they cling to amidst the shadows of pain, but the truth? The truth lies neither in the heavens nor in myths... but in our own ability to shape our own destiny, ignoring a destiny created long ago by God, which we now live as if it were the past as God had written it."
He took a deep breath and continued, "If God truly exists and is watching the injustice, killing, violation, and desecration taking place among humans, then God is neither loving nor kind. He is nothing but a god of destruction, a god of war who thirsts for blood, who thirsts for the suffering of His creation and even feeds on it."
"Do you believe in God?" Li Yan asked him.
Feng Luo answered, as if whispering an unspoken truth:
"Faith? I don't know... Sometimes we believe in it because we fear being alone in this darkness, and sometimes we disbelieve in it because it limits the freedom of our spirit. Perhaps true faith is to live and fight despite everything, not because we are waiting for a god, but because we must recognize a truth that God has hidden from the books we have previously studied."
Feng Luo fell silent after his words, and Li Yan remained silent, looking into Feng Luo's eyes as if trying to discern the truth in them... but he saw nothing but a silence resembling a frightening sincerity.
Then Li Yan said in a low tone: "If God exists... then I don't need Him..."
Feng Luo looked at Li Yan gently with a warm smile, then placed his hand on the little boy's shoulder and patted him gently, He said nothing to him, nor did he intimidate him simply because he refused to obey God.