Miracle

Xiao Wu's fingertips trembled slightly, tears blurring her vision.

At six years old, she stood in the center of Spirit Hall's grand hall, looking especially small.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, dancing across her pink hair, yet it could not reach the dimness in her eyes.

Raphael Angel floated in midair, her holy wings gently unfurling and scattering specks of golden light.

She gazed tenderly at Xiao Wu, but within those crystal-clear eyes, there was not a trace of familiar warmth.

The angel's beauty was breathtaking, yet her flawless face held only confusion and curiosity toward this new world.

"Mom..." Xiao Wu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, trembling with a child's innocence.

She held out her little hand, wanting to touch the hem of the angel's clothes, but hesitated and stopped midway.

Memories of the past surged in like a tide, drowning Xiao Wu's heart.

Back then, mornings in the Star Dou Forest always carried the fresh scent of dew.

Sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of leaves, casting dappled patterns across the ground.

Young Xiao Wu bounced along behind her mother, her pink rabbit ears swaying gently with every step like two soft feathers in the morning breeze.

"Mom, wait for me!" she cried in her childish voice, clumsily pushing aside the hanging vines with her tiny hands. The rough plants left red scratches on her delicate skin, but she paid no attention to the pain. All she wanted was to catch up to that gentle figure.

Her mother turned around, sunlight weaving a golden halo through her smooth, flowing hair.

She crouched down and gently wiped the dirt from Xiao Wu's face with her long fingers. "Look at you, getting yourself all dirty again." Her voice was as clear as morning dew, carrying an indulgent smile.

Life had been simple and beautiful then.

At night, they would nestle together in a warm tree hollow, counting the stars that shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves. Her mother would always stroke her hair with a warm palm and hum ancient soul beast ballads.

The songs were soft and melodious, telling tales of the forest and the glory of soul beasts.

Xiao Wu remembered the faint scent of fresh grass on her mother, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes that bloomed like flower petals when she smiled, and the resolute silhouette of her back when she stood before the Soul Hunters to protect her... That silhouette had become the most deeply etched image in her memories, as well as the nightmare that woke her every night.

"Mom..." Xiao Wu choked out, tears rolling down like pearls from a broken string.

The Raphael Angel before her was beautiful and holy, yet she was like a perfect statue. Xiao Wu could not find the gentle mother from her memories—the one who wiped away her tears and wove flower crowns for her.

Ye Su silently watched the scene unfold.

He saw the expectation in Xiao Wu's eyes slowly replaced by disappointment. He saw her clenched little fists trembling, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

With a soft sigh, he walked over to Xiao Wu.

As he crouched halfway down, his holy white robe spread across the floor like a gentle cloud.

His warm hand lightly settled on her trembling shoulder. "She truly is your mother." Ye Su's voice was like a spring breeze brushing over a lake, carrying a soothing power. "She was simply reborn in another form."

"Raphael possesses all of your mother's memories and her soul," he continued, his gaze moving between Xiao Wu and the angel. "She just isn't very good at expressing herself." The newborn angel had come into the world for the first time. Raphael was still only a child at this moment, so how could she possibly know how to express a mother's love for her child?

As Ye Su considered how to explain such a complicated concept, Xiao Wu found her own explanation. Perhaps soul beasts simply tended to think in a direct and uncomplicated manner.

"She just doesn't remember that I'm her daughter anymore, right?" Xiao Wu raised her tear-blurred little face, her pink eyes filled with shattered hope. She tried her best to understand everything before her, attempting to explain her mother's "strangeness" with her limited understanding.

Raphael Angel tilted her head in confusion, her holy wings gleaming with soft golden light beneath the sun. She reached out, wanting to touch Xiao Wu's cheek, but stopped midway.

The angel's brows furrowed slightly. She did not know whether she should touch the girl before her.

The gesture did not seem quite appropriate to her, yet instinct urged her to draw closer to this crying child.

At that moment, Solomon walked over.

What Ye Su could not conveniently do as a god would be done by the Son of Man.

He knelt on one knee, bringing himself level with Xiao Wu, and cupped her tear-streaked little face.

His thumb gently wiped away her falling tears, his movements as delicate as though he were handling a fragile treasure.

"Listen," he said gently, his voice carrying a convincing power. "Father God once said that memories can be sealed away, but the bond deep within the soul will never disappear."

He turned toward Raphael. "Lady Raphael, tell her—when you see this child, what do you feel in your heart?"

A ripple passed through Raphael Angel's eyes. She pressed a hand to her chest, where an unfamiliar stirring had arisen. "I feel an inexplicable pain." The angel's voice was ethereal and confused. "It is like seeing a small flower trembling in a storm, and wanting to shelter her from the wind and rain."

She lowered her head in confusion to look at her own hand. "This is strange. I do not understand why I would feel such emotions."

Yet when Xiao Wu heard those words, a spark of hope reignited in her eyes. Xiao Wu's emotions came quickly and went just as quickly.

Solomon smiled and ruffled her hair. The affectionate gesture reminded Xiao Wu of her mother's former tenderness.

"Do you see?" he said. "This is a mother's instinct. Though she now exists in the form of an angel, her feelings for you have never changed."

Ye Su split his attention in two. While controlling Solomon to comfort Xiao Wu, he also spoke himself. "The newly born Raphael simply needs time." The young god's clear voice echoed through the hall. "Just as a butterfly emerging from its cocoon needs time to adapt to its new wings."

He rose to his feet, took Xiao Wu's soft little hand, and gently placed it in Raphael's. "Will you give each other a chance to get to know one another again?"

"Just as you spent those long years together in the past," Ye Su said, his gaze resting gently on this unusual mother and daughter, "from today onward, you will remain by each other's side and pass through the long years to come together."

He bent down and gently wiped away the last tear on Xiao Wu's face. "Reunite amid endless rebirths, my child. You need not suffer for the past any longer."

After saying that, he nodded and looked at himself standing opposite him.

"Son of Man, Solomon." Ye Su's voice suddenly became solemn and holy, his words echoing throughout Spirit Hall. "From this day forward, you shall remain within Spirit Hall and study. I grant you supreme authority—to expand and plunder, to command all things."

This was God's most important principle: the divine right of kings.

Solomon was now the only monarch with legitimate authority.

That was right—Ye Su did not want to suffer in the slightest. Even if it was his own avatar, it absolutely would not endure even a bit of hardship.

The Main Body had become a god, so his divine avatar naturally could not fall behind.

The Main Body was the god of all gods, so the avatar was naturally the King of Kings!

What Heaven Dou Empire? What Star Luo Empire? Never heard of them. From now on, they would all be Solomon's empires!

"Your will shall be obeyed." Solomon placed his right hand over his chest and bowed deeply.

Bowing to himself felt rather strange. Perhaps Ye Su was the only one present who thought so.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, only felt that the sight before her was far too sacred.

She could not yet fully understand the significance of everything happening before her, but that solemn atmosphere and sacred ritual were deeply imprinted upon her memory.

Several hundred years later, when Xiao Wu recalled that scene—

A god had granted a king the right to govern the mortal world, and she herself had been one of the very first witnesses.

Only then did she truly understand how many people's fates had been changed by that tear-blurred morning.