Edoria gasped heavily under the curse of black blood. Dark and sticky liquid gushed out from the cracks of the ancient stone slabs, petrifying everything it touched, silently piling up despair. Pedestrians avoided it as much as possible, and the instantly frozen posture was just like the punishment described in the ancient chapter of "The Book of Years".
In stark contrast to the increasingly pervasive silence in the city, the Temple Library is Shen Yue's shelter. Under the dome, the giant bookshelves pierced the sky like silent giants, and the skylight filtered by the stained glass cast flowing spots of light on the dusty floor. Here, the panic of the outside world was isolated, leaving only the stale smell of the parchment roll.
Shen Yue was the orphan of Edoria's Wailing Wall, a mute child who could not make any sound. The chief of the temple took him in and named him Shen Yue, which means "the one who fulfills the promise." What this promise was, the chief never made it clear, and Shen Yue had no way to ask. He could only use his fingertips to caress the "Book of Years" that recorded the passing time day after day. On the palm of his right hand, the birthmark that looked like a miniature "Ten Sacred Edicts Slate" occasionally gave off a strange warmth when touching the yellowed scroll. This feeling, along with the birthmark itself, was a secret connection between him and the First Seat.
He longed to find clues to his life experience and the source of his aphasia in these ancient characters, and even more vaguely hoped to find a possibility to alleviate the city-state's misfortune. Edoria's wailing seemed to press on his heart through the thick stone walls.
At dusk, the setting sun melted gold and stained the library. Shen Yue stopped in front of a row of particularly old bookshelves. His fingertips involuntarily brushed over a "Book of Years" scroll with a torn cover. The symbols on it were ancient and difficult to discern, but they made the birthmark on his palm suddenly burn.
A sudden change! An overwhelming force surged in through his fingertips, instantly seizing his consciousness. The surrounding light and shadows twisted, collapsed, and sank into endless darkness.
When his perception revived, Shen Yue found himself suspended in an indescribable space. There was no sky or earth, only the deep void. Twenty towering temples were lined up like stars, each shining with different colors of light, silently existing in this area called the "Spirit World".
"Welcome, Shen Yue, to the Ruins of the Holy Covenant." An ethereal voice sounded directly in the depths of his soul, not through his ears.
Shen Yue looked around instinctively, and the names of the volumes of the "Book of Years" were clearly engraved above each temple. The one closest to him exuded emerald green light, and the words on it were: "Ruins of Creation·Forbidden Fruit Court".
"The mark on your palm is the remnant of the Ten Sacred Oracles, and also the key." The voice continued, "Your destiny is to travel here and repair those forgotten and distorted contracts. Your journey begins here."
Shen Yue involuntarily drifted towards the green temple. The door of the temple opened silently, and he stepped in.
Suddenly, the view in front of him was a vibrant garden. Green grass spread, exotic flowers competed for beauty, and clear streams gurgled and meandered. In the center of the garden, there stood two towering trees, one with branches full of fruits of wisdom; the other had crystal fruits, flashing the temptation of immortality.
"This is the origin of the land, you are Arius for now." The voice echoed in his heart again, "Your mission is to understand the true meaning of the 'forbidden fruit' here. But you must make a choice, at least violate one of the teachings of the guardian spirit. Remember, every action of yours may shake the foundation of history."
Shen Yue, or Arius at this moment, felt an unprecedented clear sense of mission. He walked towards the tree of wisdom, and the spiritual light emitted by those fruits seemed to penetrate the soul and tempt people to explore.
Suddenly, a giant python with glowing scales slid out, revealing cunning in its vertical pupils: "Arius, why hesitate? This fruit contains the mysteries of the universe. Don't you want to see everything?"
Shen Yue's heart tightened. The Book of Years records that Arius and Lilith were tempted to eat the fruit and were cursed and exiled. But the mission requires him to violate the teachings... If the ending is destined, can the process be different?
"If I eat this fruit," Shen Yue responded in his mind, "the blame is mine, not Lilith's. In this way, will the curse change?"
He reached out, picked a fruit of wisdom, and bit it resolutely.
In an instant, an indescribable torrent of knowledge washed over his mind. The origin of the world, the flow of life, the extinction of the stars... countless pictures came one after another, and his mind had never been so clear, as if he could see the essence of everything.
Just at this moment, Lilith's figure appeared, her pure face full of curiosity: "Arius, what did you... do?"
Before Shen Yue responded, a majestic voice exploded like thunder over the garden: "Arius! How dare you disobey my order and touch the fruit of the tree of wisdom!"
Shen Yue (Arius) straightened his body. Although he could not speak in reality, his thoughts turned into a clear echo here: "I did it. This is my choice, and Lilith did not participate."
In the air, a dazzling light and shadow condensed into shape, that is the guardian spirit. His voice carried an ancient pressure, but also a strange fluctuation: "You violated the commandment. But you did not shirk responsibility... This is very rare."
Shen Yue's heart moved slightly, perhaps, taking responsibility can really change something.
The guardian spirit continued to declare: "Disobedience must have a price. But because you bear it alone, your punishment will be different."
As soon as the voice fell, Shen Yue felt a tingling sensation on his body. Looking down, he saw a layer of rough fig leaf weaving covering his waist, which was close to his skin and brought constant discomfort.
"This is your 'mark'," the guardian spirit's voice was emotionless, "wear it, so that you always remember your choice."
The scene of the garden began to fade and withdraw. Shen Yue felt a force pulling him away from this place of origin.
When his consciousness became clear again, he had returned to the spiritual world and stood in front of the temple of "Ruins of Creation".
"You have completed the first trial." The ethereal voice sounded, "The road ahead will be more difficult. Keep this."
In the temple, a fragment with a glimmer floated out and fell into Shen Yue's hands. It was warm to the touch and contained a strange power.
"This is the 'pseudo-covenant fragment'," the voice explained, "The guardian spirit once made another agreement with Arius: if you don't eat the fruit of the tree of life, you can get eternal life. This is a corner of the lost contract. Treasure it, maybe in the future, it can provide you with some kind of protection or guidance."
Then, a strong sense of dizziness came over him, sending him back from the spirit world.
Shen Yue suddenly came back to his senses and found that he was still standing in the temple library. The light of dusk stretched his shadow. In front of him, the tattered scroll of "Book of Years" was spread out, as if nothing had happened.
He picked up a feather pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote on the blank parchment next to him - the handwriting was slightly trembling due to excitement: "I have witnessed the spirit world. Restoring the lost contract is my destiny."
Just at this moment, the head of the library walked in. He saw Shen Yue and the note, and a look of shock flashed across his old face, and then turned into a complex expression of awe.
"You..." The head's voice was trembling with an imperceptible tremor, "You really... entered?"
Shen Yue pushed the parchment to him.
The head picked it up and read it word by word, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. "The prophecy... has started." He murmured, looking at Shen Yue with a heavy and expectant look in his eyes, "The legend of the apostle of the spirit world... turns out to be true. The fate of Edoria may really depend on you."