Streams of golden and silver light swept past them like sand in the wind, as though they had entered the river of time, its end nowhere in sight.
The heavens and earth seemed to spin as endless mist once again enveloped those entering the valley. Amid countless cries of alarm, thousands of beams of light pierced through the fog, dissolving the haze and gradually revealing the true appearance of the world within.
The sound of waves lapping against the shore echoed by their ears, and an incomparably wondrous scene unfolded before everyone.
For a moment, countless people stood frozen.
Ahead lay an enormous lake, its waters shimmering in golden and silver hues. A faint luminous mist drifted from its surface, spreading toward the surrounding peaks and cliffs.
Beyond the lake stretched an endless sea of flowers. The blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, every petal seeming to tell a silent story.
A strange sight soon emerged from the flowers. Amid everyone's awestruck gazes, an incomparably beautiful figure faintly appeared at the center of the flower sea. She wore a flowing dress of soft light and danced with the wind, while the myriad flowers followed her like dance partners, with the wind itself serving as accompaniment.
Everyone was drawn to the sight, but then the scene changed. The countless flowers transformed into butterflies of all shapes and sizes, finally spreading their wings and fading into the air alongside the graceful figure.
As the dance came to an end, a voice of indiscernible gender immediately rang out in the minds of the thousand or so people present.
"Falling flowers have intent, and butterflies have affection. What will now begin is the contest for the Divine Position Inheritance of the Rank 2 Deity, the Butterfly God. However, each person will have only one