Chapter 147: True Fields of Truth

"A.I. Brain, restore the time flow rate!"

As Xu Zhi stepped out of the sandbox, the hundred-acre sandbox behind him returned to its normal time flow. The world accelerated rapidly, transforming into streaks of afterimages.

"Our world, the time flow..." On the ground, the remaining witches were clearing the ruins, gazing upwards in a daze. Some witches with keen mental perception clearly felt the change, vaguely sensing something descend, altering the world's time, and then departing.

This era of witches, with its mature system, was unlike Gilgamesh's simple ancient city-state period. They could naturally sense everything clearly, realizing that something incredible had transpired.

Ripples spread across the surface of the sea.

"The Creator has departed; our world, with its distorted space-time, has returned to normal..." Medusa blankly stroked the vivid red flower adorning her head, a brilliant smile appearing on her face.

She strode forward once more, sinking into the deep ocean. Her vast and colossal body slowly hugged her knees, bending her head low, curling up like a newborn fetus in the depths of the seabed. Yet she was truly immense; her height already exceeded the ocean's depth. Simply standing upright, half of her head would emerge above the sea surface. The entire vast ocean was, for her, no more than a small pond.

"Medusa..." Armin's voice trembled. She had been secretly watching from afar, completely unprepared for this sight. She had initially thought that such a challenge would be a provocation, a blasphemy against the Creator, yet she hadn't expected such leniency. Perhaps she should have realized it sooner... In the ancient times, when the world was first opened, the Creator had still granted Gilgamesh his three questions.

"He is too gentle, too benevolent; we are all his people," Armin suddenly smiled.

Armin greatly envied Medusa. Medusa had seen truth by the Creator's side, and it was only natural for her to gain such an opportunity by risking her life. Had it been Armin herself just now, she would not have dared to approach; not everyone possessed Medusa's particular brand of madness.

"Oh, Creator..." A gentle warmth flickered in Medusa's eyes as she recalled the slender figure enveloped in hazy light. She gently took the rose from her head and slowly placed it into Armin's Underworld space. "Let it multiply within. This is the Flower of Life's Origin; it is also the very first living being in this nether realm..."

The small space within the nether realm already contained a great deal of soil and infused air. The ground was littered with countless skeletons from past deaths, a veritable mountain of corpses and a sea of blood that had even saturated the soil, turning the land a dull, deep red.

A single rose was planted on the crimson ground. Soon, it grew at a visible rate, scattered pollen, reproduced, and then quickly withered. Gradually, it bloomed throughout the entire nether realm, covering the mountains and fields with enchanting, beautiful flowers. Armin felt as if she were in an ocean of blossoms, her eyes sweeping around, captivated by this world. She exclaimed loudly, "Ah! What a beautiful world! Can I say that the Creator is adding color to our empty Underworld?"

"Our deeds have been acknowledged by the great Creator, just as Gilgamesh's were in his time." Medusa slowly closed her eyes as she witnessed this. "Flower of Death, this is a gift for me, great Creator! Medusa wishes to see you again. May I descend into your world...?"

Within the small space, devoid of outsiders, Armin ran jubilantly like a naive and romantic little girl through the overwhelming expanse of crimson roses. Day after day, she seemed to gradually forget that she was once the sovereign Witch Emperor who ruled the world. She no longer needed to maintain her dignity before anyone; she could simply be herself again.

She could clearly feel the rapid growth of the flowers. They transformed, died, and reproduced generation after generation at an astonishing rate, gradually adapting completely to this unique land, becoming a distinctive Underworld plant endemic to this soil.

"An incredible flower, holding the truth of the world's life, with infinite possibilities for growth," Armin said with a pure smile. She gently plucked a rose from the garden and examined it closely. "This place, where vast fields of blood-red roses are cultivated, contains endless truth. Let's call it the 'Garden of Truth'."

"But how can a world exist without water?" she suddenly mused. She gently extended her fair arm, pulling open a rift in the space, allowing the snowy, fountain-like seawater from outside to surge in.

Armin hovered in the sky and made a gentle gesture. "Let there be a river!!" The mighty power of a deity flowed, multicolored light shimmered, and the entire small world trembled.

A colossal riverbed appeared on the ground near the entrance, and countless torrents of seawater, carrying various marine fish, surged into the river, rushing and leaping.

"Death is the bitter sea of life; death is ultimate suffering. My world will allow mortals to escape pain. All who believe in me, who dedicate themselves to me, shall enter the Underworld after death, crossing this bitter sea to embrace new life. This river, saturated with the souls of countless witches from past eras who sacrificed their lives for truth, filled with the agony of death and the hope of rebirth, shall be named 'Cocytus'."

Cocytus, in the indigenous language of that world, means "distant wailing" or "River of Pain."

After the deceased souls enter the Underworld and cross the River of Pain, they reach the "other side" of the world of death: the Garden of Truth. Here, vast fields of vibrant red roses bloom, brilliant and beautiful, like a turning point where one finds a hidden village in full bloom, revealing the ethereal beauty and purity of this world of death.

"Let there be good and evil!" A resonant, clear, and authoritative voice boomed throughout the entire world.

"Beyond the Garden of Truth, there should be a division. People must receive rewards or punishments for their actions in life!" As a former Witch Emperor, Armin naturally possessed experience in governing. With a gentle wave of her hand, she declared:

"I say: Beyond the Garden of Truth lies the Crossroads of Life, 'Erebus,' where the deceased are judged for good and evil, proceeding to either side. All who are kind, humble, and harmonious shall go to the place of happiness, 'Elysium.' All who are tyrannical, arrogant, and envious shall go to the place of suffering, 'Tartarus'."

CRACK! With a tremendous crash, a colossal, tree-like, mutated rose flew from the sky and plunged forcefully into the earth. The mesmerizing rose rapidly shed its petals, transforming into an ancient, gray wooden plaque adorned with intricate rose patterns, exuding an archaic Western aesthetic. It stood embedded at the crossroads, inscribed with 'Erebus,' pointing the way to two distinct paths.

Beyond the River of Death lay the Garden of Truth, followed by the Crossroads of Life, and then the realms of happiness and suffering.

"The entire Underworld, it's like a human life..." Armin mused, then smiled. "The bitter sea is like floating in a mother's womb; enduring it leads to the Garden of Truth, like the birth of new life, seeing the beauty of the world. And then, people encounter Erebus, the Crossroads of Life, each walking toward their own destiny."

At this moment, the fundamental structure of the entire Underworld was completely formed. Although it was only two hundred cubic meters, as an eighth-level deity, her meditation to expand the spatial artifact's inner space meant the artifact would likely soon reach the epic realm, providing an environment of two thousand cubic meters.