The Garden of Existence
The Court Master lay in bed, the darkness in his eyes and his tightly clenched fists revealing the anger in his heart.
The reason for his anger was on the television in front of his sickbed.
The television was broadcasting Interastral Peace Corporation news.
"Today, strange phenomena have appeared throughout the Interastral Peace Corporation's trade network."
The footage switched to the Interastral Peace Corporation's branches in other galaxies, where buildings of gold and groups of soldiers in green-and-gold armor surrounded the corporation.
The soldiers' sharp killing intent seemed to reach through the screen, sending waves of cold over the viewers.
"According to reports from our correspondents on the scene, this phenomenon was caused by the Emanator of Existence who appeared a few days ago, Qingzhu, Helmsman of the Xianzhou Daiyu. It has affected three galaxies!"
As the host spoke, he could hardly conceal the shock on his face. An Emanator capable of affecting three galaxies-just how immense was that power?
The malice on the Court Master's face grew more pronounced. His grip cracked the glass in his hand, and an instant later, it burst into shards that fell to the floor.
"Damn it! Damn it! This should have been mine! Mine! Ayinai! I've worked so hard and been utterly loyal for decades. I've believed in you since the day I was born, so why won't you even look at me?!"
He had worshipped and respected Ayinai fervently since childhood. Later, when he went out to temper himself, he would not hesitate to beat anyone who spoke disrespectfully of her until they offered a sincere apology.
It was also because of his utmost worship and respect for Ayinai that he had been elected Court Master of the Garden of Existence. In the entire Garden of Existence, no one's faith could be said to be purer or stronger than his.
And now, all those years of steadfast devotion, all those years of effort, everything he had done over the years to make Ayinai notice him, had come to nothing.
The stronger his respect and worship for Ayinai, the stronger his desire to prove himself now.
"Goddess, just you wait. You will see it. I am the best candidate to be your Emanator!"
His eyes were filled with crazed obsession. He would prove that he was worthy of being an Emanator, and that he would be stronger than that Helmsman of the Daiyu!
One week later
News that the Xianzhou Daiyu had an Emanator of Existence had spread throughout the universe. The Existence camp, which had long lacked top-tier combat power, erupted in unparalleled joy over the course of that week.
Previously, their lack of top-tier combat power had kept them from acting too brazenly outside. Even the Garden of Existence, the greatest force of Existence, had survived in the shadow of major powers like the Interastral Peace Corporation and The Family.
But now, the Path of Existence had gained an Emanator of its own, an extremely powerful one at that. This gave the forces of Existence throughout the universe a little more confidence.
After all, the Path of Existence itself encompassed all things. As fellow Pathstriders of the Path of Existence, they had a unique ability to leave messages at certain points.
They could even leave a message on the path itself, allowing it to exist there. It was like a message posted on a game's notice board, visible across the entire map.
"So this is the power of an Emanator of Existence. Incredible!"
Amo watched the news on television, his eyes filled with longing and shock.
Beside him, Xiaohe rested her chin on one hand and idly played with her hair with the other.
"Hmph, what's so special about that? I could do it too. If I couldn't use my power right now... hmph! Stupid Amo!"
Xiaohe muttered under her breath. She really wanted to see Amo look at her with that kind of admiration too.
"Xiaohe? What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
Seeing Xiaohe's gloomy expression, Amo reached out and ruffled her hair, mussing the girl's neatly arranged hair.
"Amo, you've been watching the news every day lately and haven't spent any time with me. And stop rubbing my head, Amo! It'll make me stupid!"
Xiaohe slapped Amo's hand away. Amo froze for a moment, then didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So he had neglected her because he'd been too focused on the things happening in the universe these past few days.
But as Xiaohe's childhood friend, how could he not know how to cheer her up?
He pulled open a drawer filled to the brim with lollipops of all colors and flavors.
The instant Xiaohe saw them, her eyes went wide. She stared at the drawerful of lollipops without blinking, drool embarrassingly spilling from the corner of her mouth.
"Want one?"
Amo picked up a lollipop and waved it in front of Xiaohe. Her gaze followed its movements, and she nodded slowly.
"I do~"
Amo unwrapped the lollipop and put it in Xiaohe's mouth. "I'm sorry, Xiaohe. I've been so focused on what's happening with the Xianzhou Daiyu these past few days that I neglected you. I won't do it again."
With the lollipop in her mouth, Xiaohe looked at Amo's sincere expression and nodded.
She hadn't been angry in the first place. She had only wanted to see what Amo would do, and sure enough, her Amo hadn't disappointed her.
"Since you know you were wrong, I'll forgive you."
Xiaohe winked playfully, grabbed another handful of lollipops from the drawer with lightning speed, and swept away.
When he heard the door to Xiaohe's room close, Amo smiled indulgently.
The Garden of Existence
"Hey, brat, what did you call me here for? If you've got something to say, spit it out. The Guard Corps has a pile of things to deal with, and I don't have time to waste arguing with you."
In the Garden of Existence's conference room, an elderly man sat across from the Court Master. His face was impatient, and he made no effort to hide the disgust in his eyes.
As the Garden of Existence's most senior elder, he knew better than anyone what it had once been like. Now, however, it had become a battleground for power.
And the Garden of Existence had become this way entirely because of the Court Master before him, who looked old but was actually middle-aged.
That was also why he disliked the man before him. As one of the few surviving founding members of the Garden of Existence, he remembered how it had once helped stabilize worlds on the verge of breaking apart, and helped lost people find meaning in their existence... Everything the Garden of Existence had once done had been a sincere effort to help others.
But what about now? Power struggles, internal corruption, and open and covert fighting between factions had led the Garden of Existence away from its original course and gone against the very purpose for which it had been founded.
Back before the Garden of Existence had reached this point, their lord, Ayinai, the Goddess of Existence, had secretly visited more than once. Though she claimed not to care about them, the latest miracles of Existence the Garden of Existence had discovered had always been in the same galaxy as the Garden, not far away.
He missed all of it terribly. But now, never mind the goddess's secret visits-even new miracles of Existence were appearing less and less often. This made him realize that the Garden of Existence had been abandoned by the goddess.
He wanted to change things, but he couldn't. The Garden of Existence had been divided into multiple factions. Although the Court Master was still nominally in charge, people had already been killed in the factions' covert struggles, and even his Loyalist Faction had not escaped them.
If everyone in the faction hadn't had absolute faith in the goddess, the Loyalist Faction would have changed leaders every few days, just like the other factions.