Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1018: Irreconcilable Contradiction?

It was the 212th year after the goddess left Eden. Her departure seemed to herald the end of an era. New heroes were emerging among the mortal races, while the old heroes were getting old. Alice didn't recognize those young people with new faces who always spoke in a flamboyant tone, as if they could control the world in their hands. In her mind, she still retained the memories of traveling on the continent in the past, adventures, laughter, and vows to change the world with her fledgling friends.

Perhaps it was the departure of the goddess that magnified Alice's sentimental side, making her soul, endowed with sensibility, unable to accept the fact that her friends were gradually leaving her. During that time, she was depressed and couldn't even play her favorite games. She wandered the streets of the Cathedral of Heaven all day long, fearing that when she returned to the mainland, she would hear the news of her friend's funeral coming from somewhere.

Later, when Tiantis heard the news from heaven, he temporarily put down his work and talked to Alice for a while, and then he made those remarks about life, time and memory.

She said: "There are only two states in this world, either infinite and eternal, or finite and temporary. Mother and we all belong to the former, while all living things in Eden belong to the latter. This is not determined by Mother's own preferences at the beginning of creation, but by emotion and responsibility."

"Limited and short lives will value the power of emotions more than anyone else. In just a hundred or two hundred years, they will experience many memorable things and meet many like-minded friends: happy or unhappy things, people they like or dislike, sadness, confusion, regret, joy... all kinds of emotions, just because they are accumulated in such a limited, short, and unrepeatable time, they appear so strong and hot. But if these emotions are extended to one thousand, two thousand, or even ten thousand years, they will appear too sparse and too weak. Mortals are not born immortals. They are a race that is born to grasp the present. Therefore, in a limited time, they can live the most valuable life and always remember it. If the life span is very long, the memory must be very short. Short memories are destined to be unable to coexist with long life. In the end, they will only be slowly confused, lost, and then disappear."

"As for the infinite and eternal life, it is bound by responsibility. The purpose of their birth into this world is not to enjoy a wonderful life and leave some deep memories, but to fulfill their mission. If it takes a lifetime to complete this mission, then it can be considered as accepting an eternal loneliness. What will happen to the things that make you sad now in the past ten thousand years? In the first three thousand years, you are full of sorrow, and you firmly believe that you will not forget their faces; in the middle three thousand years, you feel uneasy and anxious, and familiar faces often flash in your dreams, but you can't remember their names; in the last three thousand years, you gradually calm down and realize that all emotional changes are ultimately just your own choices, and some memories were destined to a destination ten thousand years ago. So you learn to accept it all, face your loneliness calmly, and make friends with it to spend the next long period of time."

"No emotion is eternal, and similarly, no responsibility is short-lived." She stood up from the edge of the tall building, overlooking the empty city below, and said, "Alice, the reason I tell you this is not because I want you to become a cold-blooded person, but to teach you how to recognize your own emotions and how to sort out your own responsibilities. You are an infinite and eternal life. Don't impose your own ideas on those limited and short lives. This is an insult to both parties."

"If you don't believe it, you can ask those people. Life is so limited and so short. Since it is destined to perish, why do we still do those meaningless things? Listen to what they say to you, Alice, but you don't have to share the answer with me."

"Whatever it is, I will never change my mind."

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand and jumped directly from the roof of the 100-meter-high building. Alice looked over and saw that her back was gradually moving away, heading towards the headquarters of the Game Command Company. Comforting and consoling Alice was just a trivial matter in her life, and she had more important things to do. Wang Quan, the realistic girl, knew better than anyone how great the gap between her emotions and responsibilities was.

That was the first time Alice heard her say such emotional words. Later, she did pluck up the courage to ask an elderly friend that question. After a hearty laugh, the friend told her seriously: I have never regretted being born into this world, never regretted any emotion in my life, and have not let down any memory that is still echoing in my mind at this moment.

Because life is so limited, short, and cannot be repeated.

……

Because of Nigflam's casual words, Alice recalled this long-ago memory. At that time, she was still confused and unable to understand, but now she suddenly had some new insights. For an ancient dragon who has lived for tens of thousands of years, is two hundred years really short? Is a thousand years really long? He was just like Tiantis said, in too long a life, he lost too many short-lived emotions, so he gradually became confused, lost, and then completely disappeared.

She sighed softly, seeming to understand Nigflam's intentions.

"So, for the sake of the stability of mortal civilization, you want to buy more time, right, Nigflaim?"

If time is not enough, then go and buy time. This is the common thought of mortals. They always think that everything can be won through hard work. It can even be said that this idea runs through the entire civilization, from opening up wasteland to gain more living space for oneself, to recording knowledge to gain more wisdom for oneself, and even forging swords to gain more benefits for oneself... It's nothing more than that.

But will he, will they understand that some things can never be fought for and should not be fought for?

Alice looked up at the ancient dragon in front of her, hoping to see a hint of hesitation or worry in his eyes, but the pair of golden dragon pupils were as calm as water, without any wavering: "Yes."

Nigflam did not hide his opinion and directly admitted it: "I, our race, and our civilization all need more time to adapt to the sudden and drastic changes in this world. Especially for us, the gods who are responsible for stabilizing civilization, we are also seeking greater power because we bear more responsibilities."

The power here, of course, does not refer to worldly power, but the power to use magic. Nigflam's meaning has been very clear. Including him, many gods of mortal races have a premonition that their lifespans are coming to an end. There is only one way to break through the limit of lifespan, that is to absorb more magic power, contact more laws, and get closer to the realm of Her Majesty the Goddess.

However, is their real purpose of buying time for themselves, as they say, to continue to maintain the stability and balance of civilization as gods, or is it that they have some purer and deeper desires? It's not that Alice wants to use such a sinister mind to speculate about her friends, but that Nigflam's words and actions are contradictory.

The magic restriction plan was proposed at the joint meeting a thousand years ago. In the past thousand years, they have had countless opportunities to improve the situation. Based on Alice's understanding of her friends, she believes that they definitely have the power and wisdom to allow their race and civilization to safely survive the two thousand years of transition. But they did nothing until now, when the life span issue is imminent, and then they rashly put forward this unreasonable request. Can't we think that there is even a threat in it?

The virtual world dragon god Nigflam, in his words, has only one central idea to express -

"The existence of God is inevitable for mortals." The old dragon emphasized word by word, "At least for now, mortal civilization cannot afford the consequences of losing God. I think you are very clear about this, Alice. If you can convey this to Lady Tiantis on our behalf, I think she will understand."

Will he really understand? Alice was silent. She felt that with Tiantis's character, the only possibility was to refuse outright. He might even be angered by the attitude of these gods, which would lead to a more intense conflict. Alice didn't want to see such a scene. Although it was true that Nigflam and others had concealed something from her, the friendship in the past was real after all. If the two sides conflicted, she would be the one caught in the middle.

Controlled by emotions, I neglected my responsibilities. Perhaps, as Tiantis said, I am more suitable to be a mortal, living a limited and short life, rather than being an infinite and eternal life, always confused, always hesitant, always wandering.

Alice sighed silently in her heart, then took a deep breath, as if to calm the turbulent restlessness in her heart. She tried her best to calm her tone, but it was still trembling slightly: "I'm sorry, Nigframe, this request... I'm afraid I can't agree to it."

The dragon's pupils suddenly condensed, but Alice didn't notice this detail and continued, "However, I promise that I will find other solutions to ensure the stable development of mortal civilization during this period, and it will not be shaken by your...aging. This is my duty as the guide and agent of civilization, and I hope you can trust me."

She looked at Nigflam with sincere eyes, and the dragon also looked at her quietly. After a while, the latter's eyes suddenly softened, and he said calmly: "Since it is your promise, we are naturally willing to believe it."

"That's great!" Alice was overjoyed and felt that she was still trusted by her friends.

"However," Nigflam changed the subject, "we will not change our previous plan."

Alice heard this, and the joy on her face turned into astonishment: "What does this mean?"

"What I mean is that we still hope that Lady Tiantis can consider the important role of gods in mortal civilization and temporarily relax the restrictions on magic power, so that human gods can extend their lifespans and continue to protect the stability of civilization. To this end, we will look for opportunities to advise her."

"You guys are going there in person?" Alice blinked. "Don't you need me to tell you?"

"Yes, we were indeed inconsiderate before. We thought it would be more convenient for you to convey the message to Lord Tiandis. But now I remember that your relationship with Lord Tiandis does not seem to be very harmonious. If you convey the message on our behalf, I am afraid there will be a quarrel. If so, we will alienate the offspring of the goddess and hurt the feelings between you and Lord Tiandis. I am afraid it is not a good thing. Therefore, it is better for us gods to advise personally."

"I see." Knowing that Nigflam was thinking about her, Alice was somewhat touched, but then she became worried, because she knew that even if Nigflam and other gods personally advised her, Tiantis would probably not agree, and her attitude was always very stubborn. But she couldn't say such a demoralizing word directly, so she thought for a while and said vaguely: "Well, then I will find a reason to stay in the Temple of Heaven for the next few days. When you go to see Tiantis, remember to tell me, and I will plead for you then."

Even though her plea couldn't change Tiantis's decision, at least... she would be more tactful when refusing, right?

Alice still wanted to save her friends' face and prevent them from being ridiculed too badly by Tiantis. Her mouth was so hateful that it could make people sick.

Nigflam didn't care about begging for mercy, but instead noticed a particularly crucial thing Alice mentioned: during this period of time, she would stay in the Temple of Heaven instead of in the Continent of Eden.

If so...

The old Dragon God nodded slowly: "Then I'll trouble you, Alice."

Alice was very happy, patting her chest and saying, "Leave it to me, absolutely no problem." It was obvious that she was happy that she had achieved a perfect result. After that, she chatted with Nigflam for a while, talking about the past, and said that if she had time, she would call all her old friends to get together, and the location would be set at the Holy Dragon Temple, and asked Nigflam's opinion. The latter agreed.

It was not until the sunset that she waved goodbye to Nigflaim and left the hall, still reluctant to leave. It seemed that meeting her long-lost friend had stirred her soft emotions, making her immersed in the past again and unable to extricate herself.

She has always been this kind of person, innocent, simple, yet full of energy. Otherwise, how could she make friends with everyone? Because of her, even dragons and feather elves, giants and dust elves, humans and mirror elves, blood clans and werewolves, who have always been hostile to each other, can temporarily put aside their grudges and live in harmony.

It can be said that Her Majesty the Goddess appointed her to be the guide and agent of mortal civilization, which is the most suitable choice.

Unfortunately, in addition to the guides and agents of mortal civilization, there is also a guardian and arbitrator of the world...

Nigflam looked at the shadows outside the palace that were gradually lengthened by the dusk and disappeared bit by bit in the depths of his old and calm eyes. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, feeling sad for the fickleness and reversal of fate, which made them friends but also destined them to betray each other.

After all, the young queen has always been the most beloved offspring of Her Majesty the Goddess and the most trusted messenger. Even if their ideas conflict with each other, they still naturally stand on the same front. Although mortals seem to live in harmony with them, they actually have irreconcilable contradictions.

Give me some meow