Nature’s Keep, Round Garden of Principles, Da Qu Kadarte.
In the strange forest overgrown with blue leaves, the ruler of the domain—the God of Depth, Dilfred—prostrated himself. Clearly, he wasn’t hostile towards us, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t the one who hid Delsgade and Everastanzetta.
“Raise your head,” I said.
Dilfred ceased prostrating himself and slightly raised his head. He looked at me with a solemn expression on his face, staring into my abyss without saying a word.
“We descended here for a purpose, and we’re not about to leave just because you asked nicely,” I said. “Explain yourself.”
The God of Depth answered without any change in expression. “An abnormality has occurred in the order of Da Qu Kadarte.”
There was no panic in his tone, nor fear; he was merely stating a fact. But Misha levied a harsh gaze upon him.
“The flow of firedew is decreasing,” Dilfred said.
I could hear a quiet gasp beside me. I didn’t understand the statement myself, but it seemed the situation was rather serious.
“What is firedew?” I asked.
“You can see for yourself.” Dilfred drew a Gatom circle for the three of us and himself. “If you are prepared to trust me, that is.”
In the domain of the God of Depth, the use of our Gatom was rather limited. If he tricked us and sent us somewhere dangerous, we’d have a hard time coming back here. Sasha looked at me, her eyes pleading.
“Lead the way,” I said.
“I should’ve known,” she muttered with a sigh.
The next moment, Dilfred held his hand at us and activated Gatom.
Everything turned white, the sound of water trickling into our ears. Before us was a giant waterfall, bigger than the eye could see, falling from the sky and flowing azure water in every direction. It was almost like the water was hitting a circular cliff somewhere high above us, dispersing its flow in this particular shape.
The water was glowing faintly, scattering particles of light everywhere. Despite the scale of the waterfall, the sound of the water itself was as quiet as a trickling stream.
“Firedew: the light of a life force, the water of the living, the wind that breathes life, and the leaf that threads all. Firedew, less commonly known as holo, is the substance that circulates through Da Qu Kadarte, changing shape as it crosses domains,” Dilfred said, staring at the falling water. “The water that falls upon Nature’s Keep is the firedew that flows from Wenzel’s domain. This firedew water travels down the forest rivers, spreading through underground water veins.”
He turned to look at the pale trees growing at the side of the waterfall.
“Firedew water is what nurtures the trees. Through them, the water transforms into firedew leaves.”
The God of Depth’s Divine Eyes turned a deep indigo. The ground suddenly turned transparent, revealing what was below. Azure water flowed through the ground, traveling from the roots of the trees into their branches and leaves.
The wind suddenly blew, sending some blue leaves into the air. One leaf fell into the palm of Dilfred’s hand.
“This leaf and that water are one and the same.”
“Hmm. How fascinating.” Staring into their abyss showed me how the waterfall and the blue leaves were the same in essence.
“Will the leaves eventually change shape too?” I asked.
“Aye. Firedew leaves are burned in the Withered Desert, transforming into sparks of heat. The scorching sparks then transform into the smoke that becomes the wind in the Celestial Canopy. The wind cools in the Mother Sea, turning to clouds. And from those clouds rain firedew water.”
And that water became this waterfall here, huh?
“Thus is the cycle of firedew through the Round Garden of Principles,” Dilfred said.
Through the four divine domains firedew traveled in a cycle: from the water of the Mother Sea, to the leaves of Nature’s Keep, to the sparks of the Withered Desert, and to the wind of the Celestial Canopy, and so on.
“The Four Principles are the foundation of order. We are the gods that govern the basic principles of life,” Dilfred said, turning towards me. “Da Qu Kadarte embodies these principles.”
“I see. In other words, firedew is like the sources that live on the earth. It circulates through Da Qu Kadarte—meaning the order of the Four Principles is what powers the cycle of death and rebirth for sources.”
“Aye.”
Sasha clutched her head with a pained look. “Hold on a minute... Doesn’t that mean the decrease of firedew flow is a really bad sign?”
“Aye,” Dilfred confirmed. “If the flow of firedew doesn’t return to normal immediately, the order of the whole world will gradually be affected.”
“What about now?” I asked.
“At present, only Syrica magic is affected,” Dilfred answered.
But that wasn’t a small thing by any means. There were many demons who had reincarnated two thousand years ago, and some of their sources were still wandering the void. If the firedew didn’t return to normal, their lives could be lost permanently.
“So you want me to leave because of the decrease in firedew flow?” I asked.
“The order of the Four Principles has never been disturbed until now. In my humble opinion, this is because a contaminant has entered the Firmament of the Gods.”
And that contaminant would be me. Indeed, there was probably no one more fitting in the Divine Realm right now to be deemed a contaminant than the so-called Misfit.
“Unfortunately, I do not recall messing with Da Qu Kadarte at any point in time,” I replied. “Do you have any proof that order will return to normal if I leave?”
The God of Depth stared at me silently, his face resolute—as though to say that even if he had no proof, he was thoroughly convinced.
“When did the flow of firedew begin decreasing?” I asked instead.
“My theory suggests the moment you stepped foot into the Divine City of the Sprouting Palace.”
So he was watching us all along. Well, it did happen in what was basically their backyard. It was only natural to be wary of intruders—and it also explained why he appeared as soon as we descended here.
“Order was disturbed by you coming to the Firmament of the Gods. It is possible to surmise that the mere existence of the Misfit with the source of destruction is enough to affect our order. Especially as your power increased after your battle with the other Misfit, Graham.”
“So you mean to say I’m no longer able to suppress my power?”
“Nay. In my humble opinion, you have never been able to suppress your power to begin with. It was never the type of power that could be suppressed, if I may add.”
“Oh?”
The God of Depth looked over at Misha.
“There was something Militia once said to the Four Principles. She claimed that the orders of destruction and creation were, despite being equal, unbalanced—that for some unknown reason, there was slightly more destruction than creation.”
“I have no memory of that,” Misha said.
“Then I shall describe the events to you. At the time, this is how I answered: order is always correct. If something appears to be broken, then it must have always been broken. There is no reduction that can be confirmed, only an adjustment to the correct amount.”
It was a typical answer for a god; order was always correct, while everything else was wrong.
“However, I was mistaken. My answer now would be different. Order was indeed disturbed. The world had been tilted towards destruction by Misfit Anos Voldigoad in a way too subtle for the Four Principles to notice.”
“It wasn’t Anos’s doing,” Misha replied.
“Aye.”
Dilfred immediately agreed with Misha’s denial, causing her to blink in surprise.
“And yet, nay. Demon King Anos stole the order of destruction from the world. I am aware that he abhorred destruction. But at the same time, he was a Misfit.”
“What do you mean?” Misha asked.
With Divine Eyes that could see into the abyss, Dilfred stared into empty space in thought before answering.
“The world is full of various orders. Life is born, deepens, meets its demise, and then changes. This is the cycle based on the order of the Four Principles. And so I ask you this, Goddess of Creation. What is the opposite of the order of destruction?”
Misha paused for a brief moment.
“The order of creation.”
“Aye, that is what I once believed. But then I realized—this was most likely incorrect. The opposite of the order of destruction isn’t the order of creation. This is because destruction and creation are two sides of the same order, and Militia and Abernyu are two sisters, two sides of a divine coin,” the God of Depth said in a serious tone.
He folded his hands together and closed his Eyes as though he was staring deeply inside, at his own thoughts.
“Gods are order. Thus, we can only judge things based on order. This is why we failed to notice the truth. But I pondered and pondered, lost in my thoughts for a long time—and I came to this realization.”
Dilfred continued his long-winded explanation.
“Let us assume the current amount of creation in the world has a value of one. What would be required to remove this creation from the world without destroying the god? Adding a value of one to the order of destruction? Nay, that would only mean one item is created, and one item is destroyed. Creation is still happening. Destruction merely happens afterwards.”
Dilfred brought his folded hands to his mouth, the fingers of his left hand lightly tapping the back of his right.
“So what can be done? Misfit Anos Voldigoad, what are your thoughts on this?” Dilfred asked.
“If you don’t mind an armchair theory, I can provide one easily,” I replied.
“Let us hear it.”
“Instead of using the opposite of creation, use the opposite of order. In other words, to destroy the order of creation, you use the chaos of creation. That is, if that’s even possible.”
“Aye.”
Dilfred pointed at me.
“The absence of order is called chaos—this is the same thought we had. But at the same time, it’s a little different. It’s not that order is missing; it’s that chaos exists at all. If order is correct, then chaos is the wrong law of nature. And that is what your source of destruction really is.”
Divine Eyes quietly opened.
“Demon King Anos. This is the knowledge I, the God of Depth, have obtained from sinking into the abyss and staring at its depths. You are the cause of this world’s ruin.”