Chapter 20: Sudden Turn of Events
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Thus, the farce came to an end.
The Angelic Race released no news concerning the affair. It was, at least, a dignified curtain call for the war angels who had followed Worm Thirteen.
Worm Thirty, Worm Seventy-Seven, and the Many-Handed Butterfly also came to understand the Angel King’s intentions. Little by little, they relinquished their attachment to life and entrusted their hopes for the future to the next generation.
Worm Thirteen even declared, “The descendants of every veteran general are likewise qualified to inherit the throne.”
This only deepened the remorse of the war angels who had been stripped of their positions. They began to devote their entire hearts to the generation that would follow.
As the angels gradually entered their later years and passed beyond the peak of their strength, they finally abandoned their deluded fantasies. Instead, they grew ever more devoted to the arts, especially painting.
They began to indulge in pleasure and pursue beauty with all their hearts.
One grand hall of sculpture after another began to rise, along with temples and sanctuaries.
On stone tablets, in clay, and upon wood, they carved scene after scene depicting their glorious campaigns across the world, inspiring the reverence of countless young angels.
They composed their epics and myths.
They also recorded their turbulent history in an entirely new angelic script.
Upon the murals—
The first scene showed the God of Immortality and the God of Wisdom seated in a butterfly-cage carriage, scattering blessings from the sky. The young Angel King emerged together with his aged mother, listening to the instruction of the captain of the guard...
The second scene began with several words:
“Two butterflies brought forth all life.
The butterflies became four clans.
The four gave birth to all species.”
Thus, the butterflies transformed into countless races.
The little insects shaped their own forms, hurling themselves into the flames in pursuit of beauty, with thousands upon thousands perishing in the attempt.
On the mural, the young Angel King witnessed the fall of the swarms, the birth of countless species from insect life, and the breathtaking splendor of beauty that feared neither death nor the fleeting nature of glory.
The third scene depicted the four great ancestors of the angels laboring in study within a tree hollow. Suddenly, they received divine revelation and glimpsed a mysterious figure. From that moment onward, they modeled their creations upon beautiful forms and gave birth to the Angelic Race.
The fourth scene showed the angels leaving the Butterfly Kingdom. The murals depicted one terrible enemy after another and the course of their campaigns across the world.
One magnificent achievement after another was recorded in this chapter.
The God of Wisdom and the God of Immortality, who had bestowed all these gifts, were likewise granted the title of “Gods” within angelic civilization.
A line of words was set into the mural:
“No angel possesses eternal beauty, yet there will forever be angels of eternal beauty.”
Below, the young angels hopped and skipped about as they gazed upon the statue of the Angel King, overwhelmed by its grandeur and majesty.
The statue seemed to possess a divine spirit of its own, radiating an indescribable, proud beauty of the soul.
“We truly are the most beautiful beings in existence.”
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The young angels were filled with excitement.
The statue of the Angel King represented the ultimate artistic expression of the beauty for which their butterfly ancestors had yearned.
...
Another ten years passed.
Generation after generation of angels was born. Their racial structure continued to improve, and the defects in their lifespans were gradually corrected.
One young prodigy after another emerged, opening a new chapter in the history of angelic civilization.
The most outstanding of the younger generation was none other than Gilupa, child of the wise angel Worm Thirty.
The child of the wheel angel Many-Handed Butterfly also stood out among them.
And there was Raphael, the Angel King’s eldest son.
The second generation of angels adopted new names and abandoned the naming system once used by the insect race.
After all, the casualties in those days had been so grievous that most insects were destined to die. Simple names had merely been the most convenient choice.
One day, within the Angelic Sanctuary, the Angel King appeared increasingly old.
“We are approaching the end of our lives. From this day forward, I will send each of our children to the Butterfly Kingdom to study.”
Below him, the wise angel Worm Thirty asked, “Why must we send our children there?”
Beside him, Empress Worm Seventy-Seven said, “It was I who proposed this to His Majesty.”
“We are all too old now. The Butterfly Kingdom may fear that we will give birth to some malicious intent. Though we would never do such a thing, the Butterfly Kingdom may still harbor suspicions.”
“Even if no suspicion exists, this course will dispel their concerns and prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“Moreover, the butterfly race is our ancestral homeland. It possesses countless treasures, and our children can study its many cultures. When they return, they will be better equipped to lead the entire Angelic Race.”
Worm Thirty grew somewhat anxious.
You two truly are of one mind as husband and wife, willing even to part with your own child.
Of the four angels who had founded the nation, he was the one who loved his children most dearly.
His child, Gilupa, was obedient and perceptive, winning the affection of every butterfly. The wise angel often boasted of the child to his old friends.
The entire Angelic Race knew that this wise angel was hopelessly devoted to his children.
Sending the child he cherished most on a long journey filled him with unease.
“Do not worry,” said the Angel King.
He chatted with several old friends about family matters and the glories of days gone by.
After seeing them off, the Angel King flew to the roof of the sanctuary and gazed down upon the magnificent angelic city he had built. Young angels leaped and played through the streets, brimming with life.
Looking at those youthful lives, he suddenly felt a pang of envy. Then he reflected:
“Worm Thirteen, Worm Thirteen... You always believed yourself unafraid of life and death. That was why you were able to sacrifice your own kin for the greater good. Yet now that the moment has truly arrived, great fear still rises within your heart.”
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Yet every living thing harbors malice.
Is the reason life pursues beauty not because it seeks to suppress the ugliness within?
Fear is the instinct of all living beings. Courage is the hymn of the angels. And he would become the most beautiful king in all the world.
...
Half a month later.
More than a dozen young angelic heirs entered the great butterfly gardens and settled beneath the Azure Parasol Trees.
Everything in the world was new to them.
“How beautiful!”
They gazed delightedly upon this land filled with exotic charm.
“What lovely songs.”
They learned to hum the ballads sung by the little butterflies along the roadside.
“What graceful dances.”
They danced alongside the butterflies. The movements were soft and ethereal, and their plump bodies made their clumsy earnestness so endearing that the butterflies burst into laughter.
They also went to school, where they studied the many forms of knowledge left behind by the Prophet.
“The Prophet truly was the greatest sage of all. His teachings are what kept us from turning against one another.”
From time to time, they also traveled to different places to enjoy delicious food.
But only three days later—
A terrifying piece of news spread throughout Butterfly Valley.
The angels who had arrived in Butterfly Valley had been attacked. Most of them were dead or wounded.
And Gilupa, the beloved child of the wise angel, had vanished without leaving so much as a corpse.
The news quickly reached the ears of the Angel King.
“This is bad!”
A terrible thought immediately arose in Worm Thirteen’s mind.
They had met with disaster as soon as they entered the Butterfly Kingdom. The ambush had probably been planned long ago.
From the very beginning, this mission to the Butterfly Kingdom seemed to have been shrouded in conspiracy and calculation.
This was disastrous. Worm Thirty had already settled into a peaceful retirement, with his entire heart devoted to his child. Now that the child was dead...
Before he could think any further, a war angel came rolling and flying into the sanctuary in a panic and cried out:
“My king! The wise angel has rebelled!”
Worm Thirteen’s heart trembled.
“Do not panic. Speak clearly.”
The war angel shouted, “The wise angel has led an army of thirty thousand war angels and begun attacking Butterfly Valley! He demands that the God of Immortality and the God of Wisdom uncover the true culprit!”
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