Dinosaur Elder's Confession

"Kaiya, how do you feel about your current body?"

After asking about the Dinosaur People's cultural environment and the threats they faced, Kangqiao suddenly thought of this and casually asked.

"Feel?"

The Dinosaur Elder seemed somewhat puzzled. He carefully sensed himself before saying, "Father God, do you mean the souls of my other kin within this body?"

Kangqiao was stunned, then nodded. "Yes, your kin. Aren't you uncomfortable sharing a body with them?"

Kaiya pondered for a moment before replying, "Father God, I do not believe there is any problem. I can sense that my kin are all still asleep. As for sharing a body, that does not make me uncomfortable either. I do not know how to describe how I feel now, only that there is no issue."

"I should be the one controlling this body, but if these younger members of my kin awaken, I will discuss matters with them. I do not believe this will affect our continued service to you, my Father God."

Kangqiao found it rather novel.

One body shared by several thousand consciousnesses? Damn, he did not even dare imagine it happening to himself.

Yet these Dinosaur People clearly did not care, and perhaps because of their faith, their current state might even be a good thing for them.

After all, they had died once already, hadn't they?

To be honest, when Kangqiao had first seen those giant flaming eyes and the three dense halos of eyeballs encircling its body, they had given him the creeps. But now, he was starting to think they looked rather cool.

The flaming halos blazed brightly, while the countless sleeping eyes within them instead gave off a bizarre sort of beauty.

Of course, that was probably just affection coloring his view.

Beauty was in the eye of the beholder?

Putting aside those silly thoughts, Kangqiao considered things for a moment before asking the important question.

"Then, Kaiya, now that you—or rather, all of you—have been reborn, what are your plans going forward?"

Kaiya froze.

Um? Having entered the Divine Kingdom, weren't they supposed to remain by the god's side forever?

Could they return to the surface?

Was Father God testing him? Or merely asking what he wanted?

For a moment, the Dinosaur Elder fell silent. But after thinking carefully, he answered according to the faith and understanding he had always held.

"Father God, my kin and I are ultimately people who have already passed away. Moreover, this body is no longer like those of our kin on the surface. Even if we returned now, I fear we would bring only terror and confusion to them."

"Of course, I do not doubt those people's faith in you, Father God. It is simply that this body is far too sacred. If Father God permits it, please allow us to remain in your Divine Kingdom and serve you forever. Naturally, should Father God have any command, please tell your humble people. For that is the meaning of our existence. We are willing to become your spears and armor, Father God. Please take pity on the pitiful, wandering souls of your people."

The Dinosaur Elder's words were extremely tactful, yet also exceptionally straightforward.

What was straightforward was that he knew his current form was far too bizarre. Living among Dinosaur People in such a form would inevitably cause all kinds of problems.

What was tactful was that Kaiya, the Dinosaur Elder, did not know what he should do now. He was even deeply afraid that Kangqiao might expel them from the Divine Kingdom or abandon them.

Kangqiao's interpretation was not wrong, but he had not considered anything further.

Why did the Dinosaur Elder not wish to return to the surface? Was it truly only because his form was too bizarre?

Heh, in an age of faith, that did not matter at all.

On the contrary, if Kaiya revealed his identity on the surface, that terrifyingly powerful body would surely earn the Dinosaur People's worship and perhaps even ignite more fanatical faith.

So why did he not do so?

It was because the Dinosaur Elder had long since seen through life. Precisely because he understood, he knew how important relinquishing power was for the next generation.

An immortal old man who held power forever might become a spiritual symbol revered by his people, but he would also block the paths of many others.

Besides, before his death, his obsession had been to ascend to the Divine Kingdom and offer his soul and everything he possessed to his Father God. How could he possibly leave so easily now?

After all, that faith had been the spiritual pursuit of his entire life, or perhaps the very meaning of existence a fanatic believer ought to possess.

Therefore, he did not wish to return to the surface and live that meaningless life again.

Furthermore, he also harbored a selfish thought.

Over the nearly six thousand years before this, he had felt a profound exhaustion.

He was too tired. He needed rest, needed to pursue what he desired.

Even if it meant sleeping forever in this Divine Kingdom, he would not return to the surface again.

The younger generation of Dinosaur People needed to grasp their own future, rather than placing all their hopes upon the gods—or upon an outdated old man like him.

Why had he granted the qualifications of successor to Barton, a young Dinosaur People priest who was not particularly devout?

The answer lay here.

Over nearly six thousand years, Kaiya, the Dinosaur Elder, had long seen through the nature of the gods.

The gods did not truly care much about these so-called people of theirs. Even when they offered protection, it was merely something like mercy, or an act done at the right moment. And were not the people also convenient tools the gods used to seek food?

At least, Kaiya believed the other three Gods of Order were like that.

Gods protected their people, and people made offerings to their gods. There was naturally nothing wrong with that.

But this world had such a thing as comparison.

At the very least, Kaiya believed his Father God was utterly incomparable to the other three gods.

He was so benevolent, so magnificent.

He never demanded offerings from his people, nor did he interfere with their lives. His attitude was one of complete noninterference.

Kaiya had realized this from the fact that his Father God had left for six thousand years at a time.

Without a god taking a share of their food or ruling over them, the Dinosaur People had lived far better than the other three races during those years.

And because of that, the Dinosaur Elder's love for his Father God had grown ever more fervent, to the point where it had nearly become an obsession.

Six thousand years ago, it had been Father God who saved his humble life when it had been on the verge of ending, who had saved those clansmen who believed themselves to be descendants of the gods. (Though they truly were descendants of the gods. @Kaiya)

Likewise, it was Father God who had once again saved his obsessed and wandering soul.

This faith had sunk deep into Kaiya's soul, like an extreme form of personal worship. He wished he could immediately offer everything to the god, even his life and soul.

Because only then could he prove his faith in Father God. Even if all he received in return was a glance of acknowledgment from Father God, he would believe it was all worthwhile.

And now, simply being able to speak with his Father God like this already made him feel immensely excited and satisfied.

His faith in the god was beyond saving, but his kin were different.

Even if they no longer believed in the gods, Kaiya felt that his Father God might not care. He had reached that conclusion from his exchange with Kangqiao just now.

The Dinosaur People's future would be created by the younger generation themselves, and in Kaiya's eyes, no one was more suitable than Barton to lead them.

This was the perfect answer Kaiya had handed in for his life. At least, he believed he had done everything he was supposed to do.