The little girl was quite cute, with delicate features, a simple white linen dress, and rare brown skin. Her figure was a bit slender, and she looked young at first glance. Her eyes were an unusual yellow, and deep within them, besides curiosity, there was a hint of timidity. Her shoulder-length hair appeared snow-white, but in fact, there was a bit of gold mixed in, almost like platinum-blonde.
But most striking were the large, curved horns on the girl's head.
The horns also had a faint golden sheen and looked extremely smooth, as if they had been specially cared for.
Uh…
Lucas Reeve's first thought was to send his consciousness to Jessica's side, tell her he had woken up, and call [Stardust] to pick him up. However, when Lucas Reeve tried to descend his consciousness, he suddenly discovered a problem.
He seemed to be unable to descend into his soul fragments anymore, including the one with Jessica. It wasn't that the soul fragments had vanished; Lucas Reeve could faintly sense the existence of a tiny soul fragment, but... the fragment's power was just too, too weak, so weak it felt like it could disappear at any moment.
Could it be…
When he was condensing his physical body, the body also absorbed the power of the surrounding soul fragments in an attempt to repair his soul?
Well…
Now Lucas Reeve was in a difficult situation.
He had nothing on him, no phone—though even if he had a phone, there probably wouldn't be any signal. He couldn't contact Jessica. Did this mean he had to find his own way back? His statue was in Sargon, so this place was most likely Sargon too. Luckily, Sargon wasn't too far from Columbia.
Under the gaze of the little girl at the door.
Lucas Reeve got up from the bed. There was none of the weakness he had imagined. After fully waking up, Lucas Reeve felt a sense of rebirth. This vitality came from this body. A moment ago, lying in bed, Lucas Reeve hadn't carefully sensed it and thought this body was unremarkable, but now Lucas Reeve felt this body was his own original configuration, 100% compatible with him.
Possessing a 100% compatible body of his own for the first time, Lucas Reeve curiously kept feeling himself all over. This scene was witnessed by the little girl at the door, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes.
A pervert?!!
After a moment, an elderly-looking man knocked on the already open door.
"You're still alive. It's a miracle, young man."
The old man looked to be in his seventies or eighties, with a weathered face. Perhaps due to living in the desert region for a long time, the skin on his face was as wrinkled as old tree bark. In contrast, the little girl's skin was quite nice.
"How did I end up here?"
The old man explained, "Our child found you on the edge of the Foehn Hotlands, outside the village. Young man, you were lying right on the border of the Hotlands. You really scared Little Beeswax. After all, the Foehn Hotlands is a forbidden zone. Everyone thought you were dead, but you were still breathing. Where is your tribe from, young man? How did you end up lying there?"
Lucas Reeve didn't answer the old man's question directly. Instead, he released his spiritual power. Since he had condensed a physical body, the soul within it was his true main soul. The main soul's spiritual strength could be described as terrifying. With just a light scan, it easily enveloped the entire village.
The village wasn't large, nor did it have many people, but they all shared similar characteristics.
"I don't know either..."
Lucas Reeve told a casual lie.
"Old sir, what year is it?"
When Lucas Reeve asked this, he was a bit apprehensive. He was genuinely afraid he had woken up hundreds of years later. After all, gods had no sense of time. According to Nian, sleeping for a few hundred years was completely normal. Lucas Reeve didn't want to wake up after finally condensing a body, only to find that everyone he knew was gone.
Oh~
Patriot might still be around after a few hundred years.
The Nine-Colored Deer definitely would be. Nian and Dusk, he wasn't sure. In terms of lifespan, Nian and Dusk would definitely still be around, but the threat of Sui was still present...
"God's Calendar 3045."
"??????"
Ten thousand question marks flashed through Lucas Reeve's mind.
What the hell is the God's Calendar??
And 3045??
Wasn't it 1095 when I went to sleep???
Have two thousand years passed?!!
Fuck!!
Lucas Reeve took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Excuse me, old sir, what is the God's Calendar??"
"You're not from around here, young man?"
The village chief asked.
"No, I'm from Columbia."
The village chief nodded in understanding.
"So you're from Columbia. Over the years, we occasionally get so-called explorers from places like Columbia and Victoria coming to explore the Foehn Hotlands. We try to warn them, but they don't listen. In the end, none of them come back alive. You must be an explorer too, young man. You're lucky you managed to come back from the Foehn Hotlands alive. You must have the Golden God's protection."
"Excuse me, old sir, what year is it on the Terra calendar?"
The village chief shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know. Our village has been isolated from the outside world for a long time. We have almost no contact with the outside. You're in luck, young man. Many days ago, Little Beeswax contacted an organization from the outside world. That organization should be coming to pick Little Beeswax up. You can leave with her then."
"You don't have any of the so-called transportation tools from the outside world. Trying to leave this yellow-earth desert on foot is almost impossible. You should stay here until the people from that organization arrive."
"Thank you."
Lucas Reeve nodded in thanks.
He had to admit.
The people of this tribe were quite good. At least with Lucas Reeve's perception, he could easily tell that this village chief was speaking from the heart. He was an honest man.
With the time unknown and no way to contact Jessica, Lucas Reeve prepared to stay here for the time being. Anyway, according to the chief, people from the outside world would be here soon. He could just borrow a phone and make a call then.
"Um... I'll leave the lunch here..."
Beeswax placed the tray of food on the table, then immediately turned and left.
The little girl seemed a bit shy and didn't dare to look at Lucas Reeve much.
Two days passed in a flash.
Although Lucas Reeve was an outsider, the tribe's villagers were quite friendly. He didn't leave immediately. Since he had just obtained a body, Lucas Reeve needed to adapt. It wouldn't hurt to wait two days.
Beeswax was also a bit shy around Lucas Reeve at first, but after gradually getting to know him, she showed the guileless side of a child. Especially since Lucas Reeve would occasionally talk about the outside world and all sorts of advanced and interesting anecdotes. Plus, the appearance of this physical body was indeed very handsome, especially when he smiled, he looked quite sunny. So not only did Lucas Reeve have a good relationship with Beeswax, but also with many of the villagers, especially a group of teenagers.
It was only then that Lucas Reeve learned that Beeswax was eighteen...
Eighteen??
Having her own airport at such a young age, she really didn't look eighteen.
And in simple conversation.
Lucas Reeve also learned news about the tribe from its people.
The tribe was primitive, very primitive. And it was in a remote location, situated in the middle of a sandy expanse, close to the Foehn Hotlands, and far from the lands controlled by the Sargon's King-Chieftain. It was even more remote than the rainforest where Zumama lived. Most of the people in the tribe had never taken a step outside the tribe in their entire lives. They were born here and died here.
And this tribe worshiped a god.
A Golden Faceless God.
Unlike the fake god in Zumama's tribe, which was just a pile of rocks.
The god of Beeswax's tribe truly existed. Every few decades, someone blessed by the god's power would even be born in the tribe. And this generation's God's Chosen was Beeswax. The golden eye pattern hidden by the bangs on her forehead was the best proof.
And under the god's blessing, Beeswax had been exceptionally skilled at using Arts since birth. Although she was still young, only eighteen, Beeswax's mastery of Arts was already the highest in the entire tribe.
Golden, faceless, glowing with golden light, humanoid...
Hmm???
Why does that sound so familiar??
"Wait a moment, Miss Beeswax."
Next to the central bonfire of the tribe, Lucas Reeve suddenly called out to Beeswax. Beeswax, who was in the middle of talking about the divine blessing, paused.
"Please hold out your hand."
Lucas Reeve said.
Beeswax curiously held out her small, seemingly boneless hand.
Lucas Reeve directly gripped it, and then, power flowed from his hand into her body.
Just as I thought…
This feeling of compatibility.
There was indeed a tiny bit of his power inside Beeswax's body. Although it was very, very little, it was definitely his. In other words, the god this tribe worshiped was really... him?
At this moment.
Beeswax was completely stunned. When Lucas Reeve's power flowed in, Beeswax felt an extremely familiar feeling from Lucas Reeve. This feeling…
!!!
In Beeswax's vision, a faint golden glow flickered on Lucas Reeve's body.
Could it be!!
Beeswax guessed something and wanted to cry out, only to see Lucas Reeve smile and place the forefinger of his other hand to his lips. Beeswax immediately understood and covered her mouth to stop herself from shouting.
God!!
God!!!
Beeswax's hand was currently held by Lucas Reeve, her other hand covering her mouth. Reflected in the bonfire, her pupils seemed to be trembling. Her golden eyes shimmered with burgeoning tears, and her whole body seemed to be shaking with excitement.
Perhaps the others nearby didn't know, because they hadn't received the divine blessing, so they couldn't feel it.
But Beeswax had received this divine blessing since she was a child.
After more than a decade, this divine blessing's power had already merged with Beeswax's own power. So, the moment he held her hand, Beeswax felt the bloodline in her body tremble and rejoice. At this moment, Beeswax finally understood why she had felt such a strong sense of affinity when she first saw this handsome man in the Foehn Hotlands. So... this was the reason.
It was the god himself!!
The surrounding villagers naturally didn't know what was wrong with Beeswax. Seeing Lucas Reeve and Beeswax holding hands, and Beeswax even trembling, they all sighed and shook their heads. *Ah, youth is wonderful.* Then they turned and left.
After all the surrounding villagers had gone, Beeswax immediately got up, preparing to bow to the god she revered, but she was stopped by Lucas Reeve.
"No need for such formalities. In fact, I didn't really remember it myself. I only confirmed it after I sensed a very familiar power within you just now."
Clearly.
The god Beeswax's tribe worshiped probably had no connection to the *current* him.
"Yes, Lord God..."
Beeswax was incredibly excited. Everyone in the tribe was devout in their faith to the Golden God. Almost every child, upon reaching a certain age, would hear the legend of the Golden God.
Legend had it that the tribe's ancestors had fled from Sargon. Just as they were about to be killed by monsters, a golden figure descended from the sky. They couldn't see its face, nor did they know its name. After slaying the monsters for the ancestors, it left immediately, but before leaving, it left a golden blessing insignia for the ancestors.
"Call me Lucas Reeve."
"Yes, Lord Lucas Reeve..."
"Drop the 'Lord' suffix."
"Um, Lord Lucas!"
"..."
Next day.
Under the watchful eyes of the villagers, a long-distance land-runner from the outside world stopped outside the tribe.
"Young man, the vehicle from that organization is here. You should leave with Beeswax."
The chief was quite at ease about Beeswax. Although she was very naive, her own strength was considerable thanks to the divine blessing. And she wasn't a child anymore; it was time for her to go out and see the world.
"Thank you, Chief, for your hospitality these past few days."
Lucas Reeve thanked the chief, then went to the village entrance with Beeswax.
A new model land-runner was parked at the village entrance. Three people got out.
At first glance, Lucas Reeve found these three people somewhat familiar.
And then…
"Hello, Miss Beeswax. Rhodes Island Operators are here to pick you up. Please get in the vehicle."
Lucas Reeve: "??"
Huh?
*That* organization is...?
Rhodes Island?!
Is the world really this small?