Unlike the pitch-black deep sea, the underground was a sea of lava.
Whether it was the mantle or the outer core, scorching Lava Flame was everywhere in this place.
The Lava Flame at the planet's core was not still; it churned constantly.
Like water drifting endlessly, except unlike water, this Lava Flame flowed incredibly, incredibly slowly.
It was merely drawn by magnetic fields as it slowly circulated around the planet's core.
The temperature here was horrifying. No life should have been able to reach this place, much less exist within it.
But nothing was absolute, especially in this world's nascent age of the supernatural.
Thump!
Thump!
"..."
Somewhere within the sea of Lava Flame, ripples and disturbances could be heard.
The closer one came to the source of the sound, the more violent the surrounding Lava Flame became.
Finally, upon reaching the center of the disturbance, an eerie and terrifying sight appeared.
Here, the sea of Lava Flame resembled a massive rotating vortex. An inexplicable suction pulled at it, while it seemed to be rapidly devoured by something.
As the view drew closer, a horrifyingly enormous creature came into sight.
Yes, that colossal creature was Kangqiao, sleeping in the fiery sea of Lava Flame.
The source of both the disturbances and the immense pulling force was the giant heart in his Godzilla chest.
That heart shone brilliantly. Like a black hole, it continuously absorbed everything in the Lava Flame.
While asleep, Kangqiao should have remained asleep.
But at some point, a great deal of noise gathered in an unseen space.
The noise, accompanied by specks of white light, converged upon Kangqiao's heart.
Then, at one moment, Kangqiao suddenly woke.
Yet at the very instant Kangqiao woke, his heart seemed to explode.
At the same time, Kangqiao's soul suddenly seemed to be dragged from his body.
In that moment, Kangqiao saw it.
His heart seemed to have turned into pure Lava Flame.
And his soul was drifting within that Lava Flame.
"What exactly is going on?"
The sudden change left the newly awakened Kangqiao somewhat dazed.
Yet he was given no time to think.
At some point, Kangqiao saw it.
At the center of the Lava Flame that was his heart, a great number of white specks of light had gathered.
Like another heart of Kangqiao's, the specks of light rose and fell, beating.
But the pulsing did not last long. Then Kangqiao saw the sphere of light formed from the white specks explode.
At that moment, Kangqiao felt as if he had gone blind. He could see nothing.
Yet at the same time, countless voices filled his ears.
"Ah! Great Father God! May I enter your Divine Kingdom after I die and serve forever at your side."
"Great Father God, I am about to die. Will I ever see your mighty form again? Divine Kingdom? Does your Divine Kingdom truly exist? If it does, Father God, might I be fortunate enough to serve at your side forever? Ah! Father God, please enlighten your lost people."
"Father God! Why can't we find you? Father God, your people are lost. I have failed you."
"Father God! You are Lava Flame, you are the earth, you are the incarnation of Blazing Star; your people are about to depart. Please forever protect the people who still live upon the earth! Ah, great Father God, sob sob sob..."
"..."
The ocean formed by countless voices completely drowned Kangqiao's thoughts. At the same time, it seemed to show him the devout final moments in the lives of one Dinosaur Person after another.
Kangqiao understood. He knew.
Perhaps this was faith?
Watching the Dinosaur People in those images as they neared death—some weeping, some terrified, some expectant—Kangqiao fell into profound silence.
For the first time, Kangqiao realized how weighty life was. At the same time, he understood the importance of faith to these weak lives of this era.
The images were like bubbles, flashing through Kangqiao's mind before bursting and fading away.
Though each scene was brief, they were incomparably numerous.
They continuously challenged Kangqiao's understanding of the world, while also making him understand something.
That was, as these people neared death, every one of them spoke of the Divine Kingdom!
They wanted to enter the Divine Kingdom. They wanted to continue serving him. They wanted another kind of eternal sleep that would make them feel their existence still held special meaning.
How much time passed was unknown, but Kangqiao eventually emerged completely from his state of "blindness."
But this awakening was not an awakening of the body. It was something else.
Kangqiao opened his eyes, yet all he saw was a vast white world.
Clouds and mist filled every corner, along with a soft, peaceful atmosphere.
There was nothing here, but as Kangqiao's thoughts stirred, the white mist dispersed, and in an instant, a desert appeared.
There was nothing here. It was terrifyingly empty.
Countless streams of lava could also be seen rising and falling throughout the desert.
Calling this place a land of apocalypse would not be an exaggeration at all.
The entire world was not large either. It was circular, with a diameter of less than one kilometer.
And along the world's edges were shattered, chaotic flashes of light.
That was storm, chaos, ultimate nothingness.
However, this terrifying void was repelled beyond the apocalyptic little world, while the space around the little world seemed to be covered by an invisible hemispherical shield.
Frowning at the horror of the chaos, Kangqiao pondered for a moment before moving his mind.
At once, the white mist that had previously dispersed reappeared. This time, however, it formed a curtain of clouds that completely blocked the terrifying sight of chaos.
Only after doing all this was Kangqiao satisfied.
Then he looked to the sky. High above this little world floated an illusory sun.
And that sun was the manifestation of Kangqiao's vital essence.
As long as Kangqiao lived, the sun existed. If Kangqiao died, the sun would vanish, and the world would shatter and perish.
A world in a grain of sand, a heaven in a flower; a Buddha land in the palm, a world within the body.
This was a Zen saying Kangqiao suddenly recalled.
This apocalyptic little world was Kangqiao's "Divine Kingdom."
Unfortunately, this Divine Kingdom was not the fantastical place that the Dinosaur People longed for, one that received souls. It was a special material realm that truly existed within Kangqiao's heart, manifested through spatial laws and concentrated lava energy.
Kangqiao did not know whether its appearance was inevitable for every Giant Beast.
But one thing was certain: the existence of this little world, this Divine Kingdom, held extremely high value.
Moreover, the Divine Kingdom would grow larger as Kangqiao grew, becoming increasingly stable as well.
This was the sort of information Kangqiao had come to know, as instinctively as every living thing knew to eat after being born.
Carefully examining the world within his consciousness, Kangqiao felt inexplicably moved.
Though it was small and indeed barren like an apocalyptic wasteland, it was an excellent beginning.
Because with this world, if the Dinosaur People who believed in him encountered an environmental disaster that threatened their extinction, Kangqiao could shelter them within this Divine Kingdom and allow their race to continue.
After all, in this supernatural world, if two Giant Beasts fought—or several of them did—the aftershocks could very likely wipe out a species or destroy an entire region.
What was more, Kangqiao, who understood the concept of the universe, knew that Giant Beasts were far from the only things capable of destroying a planet's environment. There were also wandering meteors that could strike a planet at any time, as well as enormous asteroids.
In short, after carefully examining this desolate Lava Flame Divine Kingdom, Kangqiao finally lost interest.
It was time to wake up. He should also go outside and see how the Dinosaur People had developed over these years.
PS: Thanks to readers 20190808181715336 and Mao Nanbei Na for their 100 Qidian Coin rewards, and thanks as well to the readers who voted. That's all.
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