Chapter 231
The ruling class denied Third World War, but in turn, it gave rise to Eris.
That's how powerful the wolves are; they always manage to rise from the ashes of smoldering wars around the world.
However, during World War II, the private was created.
He rose from humble beginnings to replace the ragtag wolf.
Hebe knew that since the private had become the new August Archon, it meant that his Golden Truth would inevitably cover and surpass the entirety of the Wolves.
This is how disputes between governments should be resolved!
That's why there are constant disputes and conflicts among the ruling powers, because they all want their Golden Truth to be the most useful, irreplaceable, and indispensable part of this world.
That's why the Celestial Flint and the Holy Grail are so powerful, because they have long since transcended their limitations.
While other ruling powers are still practicing their Golden Truth within the solar system, the Celestial Flint and the Holy Grail have long since made the universe operate according to their laws.
"As early as the dark ages, Celestial Flint had already sown stars in the desolate night sky."
"Even in the days when the stars were still young, the Holy Grail had already vouched for all living beings with its own flesh and blood."
"The Celestial Flint moves in front, and the Holy Grail follows behind."
These words, written in the book, are not empty words, but rather the keys that the two leaders left for the world.
"I understand."
Hebe raised her head with an ambiguous expression.
Closed Loop and confusion are not always opposed; rather, these two historical "powers" of Closed Loop and confusion will sooner or later be revitalized or eliminated over time. Both are possible.
To truly defeat Eris, relying solely on a "Closed Loop" is insufficient.
Only by broadening one's own Golden Truth can one completely replace and eliminate it.
"This level of confusion... is just right."
Hebe slightly closed her eyelids.
Aside from clashes between the Golden Truth, killing a ruler is extremely difficult.
Of course, this is the result of discussing the Celestial Flint and the Holy Grail.
In addition, there will be shifts in the strength of symbols, images, and domains among those in power.
Scar Father hunted down beasts led by the wolves, thus human civilization replaced non-human species;
Mr. Day fell into decline amid his conflict with the Three Goddesses, so the society that passed on secret teachings and other supernatural knowledge went underground and was replaced by the more systematic Orthodox Church.
The elevation of the Pearl Empress brought order to the ocean currents of the four seas, directly leading to the arrival of the Age of Exploration;
The return of Celestial Flint led to the development of nuclear technology, which directly caused Canlang to collapse. Therefore, modern industry is the source of the greatest violence.
In the subsequent war, Celestial Flint defeated Scar Father and tore off the eye that represented the realm of light. This led to the conclusion that whoever controlled modern industry and the latest cutting-edge technology controlled the lifeline of the war.
Such examples demonstrate that the ruling party can seize various symbols from the other party through overt disputes, or place its own symbols in an advantageous position in the confrontation.
Now, Hebe has gained a small share of the symbolism associated with "confusion" through her continuous victories over Eris.
Chapter 295, the opening of the Mahabharata.
Closed Loop and confusion, the two sides of the Secret History Principle, the duel between oneself and Eris, the Golden Truth, the past and the future...
Hebe has many important things to think about, and when she does, she always appears unusually serious.
This solemnity continued until Kama returned carrying two fish.
Both fish are of the same species: large heads, round bodies, and broad tails, resembling inflated pufferfish, but lighter than pufferfish.
They can float freely up and down in the air, just like groups of balloons.
These balloon fish are new creatures that have appeared in Fangcun Mountain. They are not only cute to look at, but also cute to eat.
The Bharata traditionally do not eat fish. This is not actually due to any religious reason, but rather because they have a custom of throwing corpses into the Ganges River and scattering the ashes after cremation.
Witnessing this situation, it's naturally hard to feel any desire to eat fish.
The fish soup quickly released a sweet and fresh aroma. The fish meat was white and tender, the soup was clear, and a few small bubbles floated on the surface.
Hebe took the soup from Kama, but then put it beside her. Under Kama's questioning gaze, Hebe threw the Yang Pill she was playing with into the soup.
Glug glug... The soup in the bowl visibly decreased, and Yang Pill wobbled as it tried to fly out, but then it heard Hebe's voice coming from afar.
"Balloon fish live north of Fangcun Mountain, a place with jagged rocks and suspended water. When they swim in the water, their blood is poisonous; but when they float in the air, they are poisonous. Eating their flesh will allow you to dream of the person you want to see."
"Rama, Sita. The Vedic Age has ended. Go and say goodbye to your parents properly."
Hebe's palm slowly grew larger, covering the rim of the bowl and completely obscuring its mouth.
Then it got dark.
The village chief is over seventy years old.
His wife is also nearly seventy years old.
In this era, she is considered quite old, and the village has already seen two or three generations of people come and go.
The woman who had argued with his wife back then, both her husband and son died before her, and she herself died more than 20 years ago.
She often said that she and her wife had been fighting all their lives, but in the end, it was her "enemy" who took her to her death.
As they grew older, the once strong-willed wife gradually became gentle and kind; while the once lenient village chief gradually became eccentric.
The two of them lived the second half of their lives as if they were each other's first half.
The moonlight is as clear as water tonight, and the village chief tosses and turns, unable to sleep.
After lying in bed for a while, the village chief sighed, quietly got up, put on his clothes, and went out under the moonlight.
He walked along the ridges of the fields under the bright moonlight, crossed the small wooden bridge that had been repaired many times, walked across the wide threshing ground, and passed by the fishponds of other villagers. Under the moonlight, everything that was once familiar took on a different kind of atmosphere. This old man, who had toiled all his life, discovered that his village was surprisingly beautiful.
He drove around the entire village for a long time and then returned to his old house.
The village chief struggled to sit down in the courtyard. He looked around to make sure no one was there, then covered his face with his hands and began to cry softly.
As he cried, he seemed to hear someone calling him again.
"Dad."
The village chief quickly wiped his face with his sleeve.
He raised his head and opened his eyes wide.
In the moonlight, Sita wearing the clothes he had worn when he left home, holding a bowl of steaming fish soup in his hand.
Beside her stood another, slightly taller figure, who appeared to be a boy. For some reason, the village chief felt a strange sense of familiarity with this boy, though he couldn't make out his features.
"Nannan, you're back?"
For some reason, the village chief's throat bobbed when he saw the bowl of fish soup in Sita's hand.
Transparent bubbles bubbled in the steaming fish soup, the tender white fish meat resembling snowflakes or the moonlight tonight, its rich aroma filling the air. The bowl was a smooth white porcelain bowl, its rim adorned with blue floral branches, a luxurious style the village chief had never seen before; when he received it, his hands even trembled slightly.
Those childhood memories, like the aroma of fish soup, surged straight up from the depths of the village chief's mind.
He recalled catching his first fish in the lake when he was ten years old; the fish was only the size of his palm.
Now, as he holds this bowl of fish soup, he seems to see the fish still swimming in the bowl.
The village chief brought the fish soup to his lips, the scalding steam making it hard for him to open his eyes, much like the smoke rising from the hearth at a wedding. He held the hand of the young woman beside him and circled the hearth.
He seemed to have transformed back into that heroic and vigorous young man.
The fish soup entered my mouth, but strangely, it had no taste at all.
The village chief took a few sips, put down his bowl, and said to his daughter, "Daughter, I've had enough. Go and let your mother have some."
He carried the bowl and pushed open the door. He saw that the room was pitch black and the light was dim. His wife was lying on the bed, fast asleep.
The village chief sat down and nudged his wife's shoulder. "Our little girl is back, and she even brought us some soup..."
He nudged her, but his wife wouldn't wake up. Turning his head, he saw Sita with her back to the moonlight, her face streaked with tears.
"Dad... Mom is gone."
The village chief, holding a bowl of soup, sat on the edge of the bed and nodded blankly.
He wanted to say something, but the words came out of his throat like phlegm, which then burned and stung, as if he had swallowed a hundred steel knives that were spinning in his heart.
In the end, all the village chief could utter was a low sigh.
Sita knelt before him, tears streaming down her face, trying to help him up, but she couldn't touch his body no matter what she did.
Miraculously, the old man calmed down in the end, and he looked up and said, "Sita, your father is leaving too."
The moonlight was like water, and there was no one in the quiet little house.
The elderly people passed away in their sleep.
Hebe pushed his free right hand toward the Great Radiant Light, sending the village chief and his wife's frail spirits into it.
Above the hazy light, the water rippled, and the cityscapes flashed by once more.
The Great Radiant Light silently turned back behind Hebe's head.
"You must have some doubts in your heart, right?"
Hebe knew what Kama wanted to ask just by looking into her eyes. "You saw the scene in the Snow Mountain Pure Land before. The nobles drank and made merry without restraint, while the poor were slaves with no hope of ever seeing the light of day again."
"But don't the Brahmin claim that ascetic practices in the mortal world will lead to reincarnation in the next life?"
Kama asked hesitantly, "Could it be that they're lying about even this?"
"Kamadiya, that's not how it is."
Hebe laughed upon hearing this.
She flipped her right hand over and waved her fingers in the air.
"For those of lower caste, they do indeed come to a new world after death—in the Pure Land they will continue to labor as slaves until their spirits can no longer bear the burden and finally disintegrate and perish."
"You see, the Brahmin is not lying to you on this point. This is indeed a 'rebirth'."
A mocking smile crept onto Kama's face.
Kama was the most pleased about Sita's slaughter of the nobles of Sita than twenty countries.
Hebe raised her left hand.
The soup in the bowl had disappeared without anyone noticing, and only the Yang Pill floated up from the empty bowl, looking bewildered.
Just then, a faint rumble of thunder came from the sky once again.
The Vedic Age has ended.
The era of Dharma has arrived.
Each version of Bharata always carries the marks left over from the previous era.
This time, Sita unified the chaotic Ganges basin.
Therefore, when the era of Dharma officially began, a unified dynasty already stood in the Ganges basin.
In addition, the new version also fixes a series of bugs from the previous era—such as the official appearance of Hinduism.
This is not referring to the Hinduism of later generations, which was artificially created by King Arthur, but rather to Brahmin, which naturally transitioned from the Vedic Age.
The ritual forms and doctrines have not changed much, but Indra, who was originally the main object of worship, has completely taken a backseat, and Mahadeva and Brahma have become the most mainstream objects of worship.
Considering that Vishnu has not yet appeared, Brahma, who was originally the least popular of the Trimurti, is still widely worshipped.
And there is one more thing worth noting.
During the Vedic period, the sages, having retained memories of the previous era, did not hold the Dharma in high regard; while the Immortal Zhongyou, led by the sage Kshatriya, genuinely believed in the existence of the Dharma.
However, at the end of the Vedic era, Hanuman, with the support of Hebe, single-handedly stormed into the Snow Mountain Pure Land, causing cracks to appear in the originally well-defined sacred land.
The Vedas gods gradually emerged from their unconscious spiritual state and regained the emotions they had as humans, even more intensely than when they were human.