"Huff! Huff!" Heavy breathing broke the surrounding silence. Although it was short and shallow, it still disrupted the atmosphere, but it did not attract Norton's attention.
Because God does not breathe.
Abraham was breathing heavily with anxiety. After hearing his own heavy breathing, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand to calm down so as not to disturb His Majesty.
"Gods... God War?"
"I never imagined that I, Abraham, would have the privilege of witnessing a true god!"
"But what did Your Majesty mean by what you just said? To become nourishment for Your Majesty's soul, to be completely consumed by Your Majesty?"
No, no, no, this is completely different from what I expected!
Abraham, pale with anxiety, lay with Elizabeth, disguised as corpses beneath the ruins of the broken wall, their two eyes, glowing crimson in the darkness, fixed intently on Norton high above.
However, a wave of shock and panic surged within him.
Your Majesty's statement seems completely different from my own conjecture.
Shouldn't Your Majesty be afraid to absorb the souls of this Garden of Eden? Why then does he speak so now?
Abraham's gaze was fixed on Norton, who was hovering in the sky. Even with his terrifying eyesight, he could still clearly see the emperor's facial expression from below.
Norton hovered high in the sky, already aware of the completely different surroundings.
Its gaze can even pierce through the clouds and mist, allowing it to see the stars that have already died out in the sky.
The expected sharp drop in temperature did not materialize; instead, the surrounding environment became somewhat eerily quiet.
If you look closely, you can even see many dark figures among the broken high-rise buildings of the now-ruined city. Even on the streets, there are figures moving slowly, as if the city was bustling with people before it collapsed.
This is clearly abnormal.
The surroundings were eerily quiet; even though people were moving about in and out of the city ruins, not a single sound could be heard.
Even the wind that could be felt and heard just moments ago, while hovering high in the sky, has now become completely silent.
The entire Garden of Eden seemed to fall into an eerie silence in an instant, but no gods appeared.
Norton remained expressionless, but his hands were clenched tightly, and the bone sword he held in his other hand was constantly on guard.
Although he appeared alert but not fearful, his molars were actually grinding together so hard they were almost breaking, and even his face was trembling slightly.
Deep within those eyes, there was an obvious hint of fear.
It seems that pretense is ultimately just pretense, and true understanding is nothing more than a sign of incompetence and resignation.
When the god Jonah truly descended, Norton of Biyang was about to return to the deep-seated fear and dread he had felt in the past.
But Norton is someone who knows what's going on.
If you can beat them, exert pressure; if you can't, run away; if you can't run, act tough and hide your weaknesses.
At this moment, he had nowhere to escape, and dared not make a move before the surrounding environment changed, nor did he have a target to attack.
Therefore, he could only do everything in his power to hide what he feared most.
Norton's body hovered high in the sky, his perfect and holy face filled with a wild smile and expectant eyes.
He raised his pure white bone sword high, pointing it at the extinguished star, and uttered divine murmurs.
"In the past, Kuba could recognize the abnormality of my Norton soul at a glance, and was therefore devoured by me Norton, to help me reach the Fourth Stage!"
For centuries, I, Norton, have remained stagnant in this Existence Level, and have yet to find any possibility of breaking through.
However, a false god is still a false god!
Although my flesh and blood are immortal and my soul is indestructible, I ultimately do not possess the authority of a true god, nor the dignity of God!
However, all of this is now taking a real turn for the better!
You must have already noticed the uniqueness of my soul, which is why I have never revealed myself.
Indeed, my soul, Norton's soul, is a product of another world, therefore my soul is immortal and my flesh and blood never wither!
Because even God cannot create what God cannot create. And the uniqueness of my soul means that even the true creator God cannot truly obliterate me! (This is a paradox, similar to how an omnipotent God cannot create a stone he cannot lift, or how the God of Garden of Eden could not create Norton's soul. Therefore, Norton's soul is a bug that God cannot solve, because since He cannot create it, He cannot completely annihilate it. This will be discussed in Volume 3.)
So you already foresaw that you, Jonah, and even the soul of the entire Garden of Eden, could only serve as nourishment for me, Norton, to help me reach the Fifth Stage and ascend to godhood!
Hahahaha, come on!!!
Oh, the ancient deities described in the scriptures of the Holy Lord Church!
Surely, in your Primordial God of Death, you are truly qualified to become nourishment for my Pale God!
Norton laughed wildly, spewing a beam of light from his mouth that pierced through the clouds and through the star.
It seemed truly fearless, even eager to devour the Garden of Eden and even the endless soul of Jonah.
However, all of Norton's words, all his pretense, and even the barely perceptible fear in his eyes were seen by Abraham in the ruins, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"I see, I see!"
Your Majesty, even now, you are still secretly plotting!
In the past, Your Majesty did not fear the silver sword, but you pretended to fear it before me, Abraham.
In the past, Your Majesty was not afraid of Church relics or even the cross. He even secretly filled his room with Church artifacts to cultivate his patience. Yet, he revealed to others, including to me, Abraham, that he was afraid of Church relics and cross ornaments.
In the past, Your Majesty was not afraid of the sun, yet you never exposed yourself to it in front of me, but secretly revealed yourself on the balcony by yourself.
In the past, Your Majesty was not afraid of the attacks of the Holy Knight, but you were deeply afraid of me, Abraham... Your mind was so heavy that you guarded against me Abraham, for nearly two hundred years!
But now, His Majesty claims that he craves to consume souls...
So that's how it is! It finally matches up!
Abraham's bloodshot eyes were filled with a sudden realization, a complex mix of memories of the past and present, and a deep longing for Norton.
If Abraham were to put himself in Jonah's shoes at this moment, after hearing the two words His Majesty had just spoken, he would probably truly believe that His Majesty was trying to devour souls in order to ascend in Existence Level!
Therefore, Jonah would definitely avoid His Majesty to prevent His Majesty from consuming souls and advancing to the next level.
However, this is clearly exactly what Your Majesty wanted, which would put Your Majesty in an invincible position!
What Your Majesty truly fears is the corruption of your unique soul by the incorporation of these souls from Garden of Eden!
Just as His Majesty's flesh and blood could corrupt the creatures of Garden of Eden, causing them to evolve in order to control them.
Once Your Majesty's unique soul is corrupted, it will inevitably become like the humans of the Southern Continent today, with your true weakness in the hands of God or even Jonah, who controls death! (Similar to Ghost Rider's Blackheart, who created a weakness by consuming souls.)
Therefore, Abraham's deductions based on details and past events were entirely correct. Norton of Biyang's series of statements today were all meant to mislead Jonah, the Primordial God of Death!
"Perhaps the Kuba of the past was also misled by Your Majesty's words?"
At this moment, Abraham couldn't help but feel deeply impressed by Norton's cunning, and he could even conjure up in his mind how His Majesty had deceived Kuba in the past.
If Abraham had not followed His Majesty for many years, becoming familiar with His Majesty's character and able to observe details in daily life to make relevant inferences, he would likely have been misled by His Majesty and truly believed that everything His Majesty said was true!
Unfortunately, even the most careful ruler can make a mistake!
He, Abraham, will be Your Majesty's true defeater!
No... defeating His Majesty doesn't make him Abraham; it's more like a mental illness!
"Your Majesty, you didn't expect that, did you? I, Abraham, have finally grown up!"