Memories of the Kingdom of God II

Dust and smoke churned across the ground as the cries of battle were gradually swallowed by silence.

The Shandia chief and the young Gan Fall slowly pushed themselves up from the ground. Before they could even brush the dirt from themselves, they were both stunned by the sight in the sky.

A young figure wreathed in lightning floated high above.

Arcs of electricity danced around him, like an arbiter sent down from the heavens. A heart-trembling radiance flickered in his eyes.

—That was a god.

—At least, he looked like one.

The two leaders nearly held their breath at the same time.

The Shandia chief recovered first. He picked up his fallen spear, aimed it at Gan Fall, and roared in a hoarse, furious voice, "Great God of Thunder!!!"

"These Sky Island invaders stole our land!"

"They defiled the legend of Noland and the honor of the ancestors that we Shandia have guarded for generations!"

"My people have endured for centuries, seeking only to reclaim our homeland!!!"

His voice was like a war drum piercing the air, every word carrying the weight of blood and tears.

The Shandia warriors' eyes reddened one after another, their furious breathing rising and falling.

At the same time, the young Gan Fall was already burning with fighting spirit.

He was still far from becoming the gentle and benevolent "god" of the future. Instead, he was more like a young Sky Island king, hot-blooded and proud.

The Shandia chief's accusations ignited his fighting spirit, and he shouted back, "You Shandians! All you ever talk about is your homeland!"

"But God's Island was clearly a sacred land first discovered and developed by our ancestors!!!"

"You are the unreasonable intruders!!!"

The air over the battlefield suddenly turned scorching hot.

The Shandians tightened their grips on their weapons, their fighting spirit fully ignited.

The Sky Island warriors' impact spears began charging, blue light surging at their tips.

Unable to bear the hatred of centuries, the leaders drew closer to each other while the warriors' nerves tightened to the point of pain.

—Just one step, one breath, and battle would erupt again.

At that very moment—

"Screech—!!!"

Lightning suddenly exploded between the two leaders!

Rock descended like a bolt of heavenly thunder, landing on the ground in a flash. He stretched out both hands and casually pressed one hand onto the head of the Shandia chief and the other onto Gan Fall's.

The motion was casual, yet it carried absolute suppression.

"You two—"

His tone was as relaxed as though he were scolding children who had gotten into an argument.

"Calm down."

Shandia chief: "?!?!"

Gan Fall: "Huh?! Y-you, let go of me!!"

They both struggled with all their strength, muscles bulging and veins standing out, only to discover in horror—

No matter how hard they struggled, neither of them could move their bodies even a fraction.

Shandia warrior: "The chief is being suppressed with one hand...!"

Sky Island warrior: "Even Lord Gan Fall can't move... who is he?!"

Shock and fear quickly spread through both groups.

Just as the leaders of both sides were being "held down by the head" by Rock—

"Rumble—rumble—rumble!!!"

A deafening roar of engines came from deep within the sky.

Everyone instinctively looked up and saw more than a dozen strange-looking flying ships, their hulls glowing with power patterns, appearing high above at some unknown moment.

Flame Dial exhaust ports spat out steady flames, allowing the flying ships to hover in neat formation above the battlefield with the majesty of a fleet from the Kingdom of God.

Pale blue-white smoke drifted from the ships' sides, making them look mysterious and awe-inspiring.

The Shandia warriors' pupils shrank sharply. "What... what kind of monsters are those?!"

The Sky Island warriors gripped their spears tightly. "An unknown force...?!"

Because neither the Sky Islanders nor the Shandians had ever seen ships with this level of technology.

The very existence of these flying ships completely overturned everything they understood about "civilization."

Rock gently withdrew his hands.

The two men who had been pinned immediately retreated to their respective camps, watching Rock and the entire "divine fleet" behind him warily.

The warriors of both sides also entered a state of high alert—

Yet Rock merely raised a hand slightly, lightning softly flickering along his arm.

He floated above the battlefield, thunder coiling behind him as more than a dozen flying ships hovered silently at his back like attendants to a divine throne.

He smiled faintly. "All right—"

"Let me—"

Lightning gathered in his eyes, and his voice suddenly became clear and resolute.

"Clear up this misunderstanding that has lasted for centuries."

—

Under Rock's command, the flying ships tore through layer after layer of clouds in the White-White Sea like beasts, speeding toward Shandora.

He arranged for two ships to carry Gan Fall and his Sky Island warriors separately from the Shandia chief and the still-furious Shandia warriors.

The two groups watched each other through the clouds, wary, angry, and uneasy...

As the ships moved steadily forward, they found themselves within an unknown technological marvel for the first time, and the flames of war in their hearts gradually gave way to astonishment.

—Until they truly arrived there.

When the flying ships slowly descended, everyone was completely robbed of breath by the sight before them.

What they saw was not ruins.

Nor was it a desolate city.

It was a Golden City that remained incomparably magnificent despite weathering centuries of wind and rain.

Golden walls reflected blazing light among the clouds. Giant trees wound around towering golden pillars, as if guarding an ancient myth.

The golden statues by the roadside had long been marked by the passage of time, yet they still stood towering, solemn, and untouchable.

The Shandia warriors' pupils widened. Pointing ahead, they spoke in trembling voices:

"Th-that is... the Golden City...???"

"It's real... it's all real...?!"

In that instant, the breath of countless Shandians froze in their chests.

The great ancestral land of legend, the "Golden City"... really was... in the sky!!!

Just then, Rock flashed to the Golden Bell.

He raised his fist. Lightning flowed around it, and his gaze was firm.

The next second—

"Gong--------!!!"

The massive bell was struck by lightning, its thunderous toll shattering the air.

Golden sound waves spread from the center of Shandora, sweeping across the entire Sky Island like tides, piercing through the White-White Sea and scattering into the heavens tens of thousands of meters above.

The entire Sky Island shook.

It was deafening, yet incomparably magnificent.

At that moment, even time seemed to stop.

To the Shandians, this was no ordinary bell.

It was the sound of their ancestors' honor being proven.

The "legend of Noland," mocked by the Sky Islanders for four hundred years, and the "Golden City," twisted by history into a fantasy, now told them in the most overwhelming way—

Noland had not lied!

Kalgara had not gone mad!

The Golden City was real, and their homeland was right here!!!

One by one, the Shandians fell to their knees, tears spilling onto the Cloud Grass.

"Ancestors... we have returned..."

"Our homeland... really is in the sky..."

Centuries of bitterness, anger, grievance, and perseverance...

All of it was proven in this moment.

To the Sky Islanders, the Kingdom of God had always been their sacred land.

But when the Golden Bell rang, they finally understood the truth: this land had originally been the Shandians' home.

They had taken another people's ancestral land without ever knowing it.

The sacred land they took pride in had been built upon another people's suffering.

Gan Fall's eyes trembled, and the hand clutching his spear finally loosened.

"So... the beginning of this war really was us taking their ancestral land..."

The Sky Island warriors slowly lowered their weapons. For the first time, shame and reverence appeared in their eyes.

The bell's toll allowed them to clearly see the truth of history for the first time and understand the Shandia warriors' persistence and grief.

The echo of the Golden Bell shattered not only misunderstanding, but centuries of hatred as well.

This was the sound of peace, allowing both peoples to understand each other's pain and perseverance.

It was the bell toll that redeemed injustice.

It was the first bridge that allowed the two peoples to truly speak to one another.

As the sound waves faded, swords and spears across the battlefield were lowered.

Gan Fall lowered his head and sighed. He said sincerely, "The Sky Islanders... owe you a heartfelt apology."

"What we fought over truly was your homeland."

The Shandia chief pressed his fist to his chest and said solemnly, "We Shandia... are willing to acknowledge your sincerity."

"Let the war end from this moment onward."

Hatred came to an end at that moment, and both sides finally laid down the blood feud that had lasted for centuries.

Floating in the air, Rock watched it all, lightning flickering in his eyes.