"Could it be that the Void Realm and the Light Realm… truly coexist?"
"…Forget it. That's not even a proper hypothesis anymore."
After tossing and turning in indecision for a while, Victor Wang rolled back over. It was already deep into the night—the world outside his inn utterly silent. The small companion perched on the bedside table had long grown used to his habit of muttering to himself in the dark.
He continued to think. After all, the next part was the most crucial…
Earlier, he had translated the [Before Sun and Moon] up to the point where the Primordial One created humankind, and where the Light Realm and the Human Realm coexisted. In truth, not only humans, but birds, beasts, fish, flowers, and trees were all creations of the Primordial One. Yet, since humanity was the centerpiece of the Primordial One's design, all other beings naturally became mere supporting roles.
Indeed, the Primordial One had shown special favor toward humankind:
If humans were happy, THEY rejoiced with them.
If humans starved, THEY sent rain and food from the heavens.
If humans lacked resources, THEY caused the earth to yield its ores.
If humans despaired, even the high heavens would speak in response.
Only one commandment was given: Humans must not yield to temptation.
And yet—the path through which temptation could reach them had already been sealed.
That "temptation" was something crucial—something that, as far as confirmed history was concerned, had appeared three times.
…
The First: The Coming of the Second Throne
The [Records of Jueyun: Mountain Spirits] recount:
The ancestors of the Seelies once met an "outlander" and made a vow of union with them. Merely thirty days later, calamity struck—the heavens cracked, the earth split, and the Seelies and their lovers fled in desperation. Yet the catastrophe found them, and cruel punishment sundered them eternally, leaving even their memories in fragments.
The Flower God once warned the Scarlet King as well. The full account is lengthy, but in essence:
The Seelies once served as envoys of the Primordial One, mediating between mortals and the heavens. But when "descenders" arrived, they brought not only destruction and ruin, but also the dream of breaking free from mortal limits.
The Primordial One, fearing this dream of rebellion and transcendence, sent down the nails of punishment to obliterate the mortal kingdoms, while the Seelies—tainted by association—were cursed, cut off from heaven, stripped of their voice, and forbidden forever to look upon the sky.
The Flower God's clearest warning to the Scarlet King was this:
"Heed my words—do not follow the master of the fourfold shadow.
Do not seek the secrets of the sky or the abyss.
For as the Celestial Nail shows, what follows such pursuit is calamity and bitter ends."
In [Before Sun and Moon], the next occurrence of "yielding to temptation" was during the Year of the Kalpa Flame: the descent of the Second Throne from the heavens. As in the war of creation itself, the skies fell and the earth crumbled.
It was in that same Year of the Kalpa Flame that the Byakuyakoku was cast into the depths of Enkanomiya. In the dark, they prayed to the heavens—but only one of the four Sustainers of Heavenly Principles, the Ruler of Time, answered their pleas. They tried to return to the surface, but due to the edict of the Primordial One—the First Throne—they could no longer find their way home.
Putting together the Seelies' curse, the Flower God's warning, and the descent of the Second Throne, the truth behind the Byakuyakoku's tragedy became painfully clear.
If the "outlander" known by the Seelies was the same being as the "descender," then the Seelies—envoys of the Primordial One—had indeed betrayed THEM.
If they were not the same—then it made no difference. To the Primordial One, it was all the same.
Terrified by the "dream of transcendence" the Second Throne had brought, the Primordial One defeated it and, at the same time, cast down heavenly nails to annihilate the mortal kingdoms that had learned of, or even glimpsed that temptation. Likewise, He cursed the Seelies, silencing them forever.
To the Primordial One, even the Byakuyakoku was not innocent. The contamination brought by the Second Throne—even the possibility of it—had to be eradicated completely.
The shift—from cherishing humankind as treasures, to casting down Celestial Nails upon them, to ignoring the desperate pleas of Byakuyakoku—revealed just how deeply the Second Throne, or rather the "temptation," had shaken the Primordial One.
And yet, it was the Ruler of Time who saved the forsaken Byakuyakoku.
Then came Orobashi, who by chance fell into their realm and discovered [Before Sun and Moon]. And so—regrettably—it was over for them.
Had they merely remained silent, perhaps they might have been spared. But by unearthing and spreading the forbidden history, their fate was sealed.
Thus, Orobashi planned the grand migration, the sealing of the Sea Abyss Gate, and even the eastern campaign against Inazuma—all to conceal this truth. To grant the Watatsumi people the right to live as humans, he even orchestrated the magnificent DivineCeremony of Offering of Heads.
From the Flower God's words, it was evident that the "dream of transcending one's bounds" brought by the Second Throne was related to the "temptation" forbidden by the Primordial One. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to strike down even those innocent mortals who had merely witnessed the cataclysm.
Regrettably, the Flower God never explicitly revealed what that "dream of transcendence" truly was.
Perhaps if it could be proven that the Second Throne drew its power from beyond this world—from Nibelung—then the nature of both "temptation" and "dream" could be confirmed.
But perhaps that proof was unnecessary.
…
The Second: The Death of the Scarlet King
Although the Flower God did not name that "dream of transcendence," her actions revealed it plainly.
The Scarlet King held the most defiant vision against the heavens. Though the Flower God tried to dissuade him, he did not listen. Instead, she herself glimpsed in his madness a possibility—a way to surpass the absurd laws of the world. And so, she allowed his folly.
"I shall build a bridge for you. I shall guide the deep knowledge you seek.
You will lose much, but do not fear the azure Nail.
You will fulfill your grand dream."
"Remember my lesson—remember the cruel punishment that once befell the heavenly envoys.
Remember, if hope still exists for the created world, it must lie within ordinary mortals."
In the darkness, the Flower God became the bridge—sacrificing her oasis to open the secret path leading to all the knowledge of the heavens and the abyss.
And once again, a Nail descended.
The Scarlet King's grand dream was creation itself—to build a perfect world: one with three moons, where all could freely pursue the sky, unafraid of Nails, a world that needed no gods, no divine rule—Aaru.
But he had not foreseen that the price of such knowledge would be the Flower God's death. In grief, he searched in vain for the paradise of old and built an eternal oasis—yet stripped it of life, death, time, birds, beasts, fish, dragons… even humankind.
Because of her death, he could no longer resist the "temptation." He reached for forbidden knowledge.
He knew all too well that "to consume poison is a sin deeper than the heavens themselves"—and yet he "mistakenly drank it." To prevent that poison from remaining in the world, he offered himself—and the poison—together to Apep. Perhaps the delivery was too swift, for the Nail never came down upon him.
…
The Third: The Fall of Khaenri'ah
If the Scarlet King's actions corresponded to the "temptation" but lacked the divine Nails to prove it, then the fall of Khaenri'ah bore the unmistakable mark of Heaven's wrath.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles personally descended, and the Seven Archons—victors of the Archon War and heirs of divine authority—were commanded to join in the purge.
What had Khaenri'ah done?
It was a nation without gods, driven by technological advancement, wielding Abyssal power, rebelling against the heavens, seeking to reshape the earth. How very much like the Second Throne.
Though Khaenri'ah fell—like the Second Throne before it—the Primordial One was no longer as strong as in that age. He could no longer cleanse the earth by scattering Nails as He once had.
And so—
Khaenri'ah fell, but the Heavenly Principles sank into slumber.
Khaenri'ah fell, but the Abyss Order was born.
Khaenri'ah fell, but Snezhnaya began to weave its quiet schemes.
Khaenri'ah fell, but the chosen Seven each began to harbor their own doubts.
This explained why, after defeating the Second Throne, the Primordial One had to scour the earth with Nails—he had no other choice. The influence of the "temptation" was far too great.
As for what that "temptation" truly was—viewing all of history—it had become nearly synonymous with power from beyond the world: forbidden knowledge—the Abyss.
Yet this, too, could only be categorized as hypothesis.
Whether that "temptation" should have been forbidden at all… before the truth came fully to light, Victor Wang resolved to remain an observer—to stand with no one.