Xu Zhi gently set down the watering can after sending the fragrant rain and towering flower monument into the sandbox. Music continued to echo softly from his phone beside the sandbox as he silently returned to his chair.
Picking up his lunchbox again, he took another bite and murmured quietly to himself:
"You've paved the way for my cultivation, allowing me to start down the wizard's path. You've even begun unlocking the mysteries of alchemy, giving me hope of curing my cancer. You three witches have provided countless surprises in your era. Now your lifespan has run its course...these three miracles are my farewell to you."
Rumble!
Golden beams pierced through dense clouds, accompanied by the magnificent crimson rain shower. On the ground below, countless people raised their heads skyward in awe.
"When the three witches died, even the gods above sent them off: blood-colored rain, a towering flower monument, and the elegy of fate! Three miracles descending upon Babylon! How magnificent were their accomplishments, acknowledged by the divine Hermes himself!"
Tears streamed down their faces as they fervently praised the great God of Wisdom.
"This is both elegy and anthem!"
Babylonians shouted their praises, stirred deeply by the music resonating throughout the heavens. Every fiber of their beings trembled, as if in the distant melody they heard humanity's eternal struggle: the battle against destiny, the fight against nature, the endless clash with monstrous beasts, and the bitter resistance against time itself.
Vivid memories flooded their minds, recalling their painful journey toward civilization.
They saw again the heroic figure of Gilgamesh, like a Nordic god, roaring defiantly against colossal beasts, lifting the Sword of Damocles toward the heavens:
"The history of humanity is a saga of courage against nature itself!"
"I've recorded our history for the future, so descendants might know our ancestors' courage!"
The vision blurred, and another image appeared before them—the three witches amid piles of corpses, countless women fallen after consuming Eldritch Eye blood, fighting fiercely against giant beasts, chanting together as they held blazing torches aloft:
"Death shall never crush our arms nor break our spines!"
Throughout the kingdom's streets, merchants, craftsmen, elderly, nobles, and mysterious witches holding wooden staffs all silently wept, tears freely flowing down their cheeks.
"This is us..."
"Our lifelong struggle..."
"This was our era."
This melody was a hymn to humanity's courage in confronting fate.
"Great God of Wisdom, thank you for all you've done for our kings."
The elderly citizens of Babylon, who remembered clearly the hardships of early civilization and the days of primitive struggles, trembled and bowed deeply in tears.
In front of Hermes' grand temple:
"Enough, it's more than enough... Blood-colored rain, a flower monument, and music sung from heaven itself."
Medeia smiled with quiet contentment. She exchanged a gentle glance with Cassandra, both women softly smiling as they held hands. Standing before the statue of Hermes, they slowly closed their eyes, arms spread wide, their exhausted bodies gently falling backward.
Boom!
Two graceful, slender silhouettes fell beautifully beneath the raining sky, landing gently in front of the towering flower monument, amid the hauntingly beautiful music echoing throughout the world. The image instantly etched itself into legend, forever recorded in stone carvings, timeless and eternal.
"Our kings...have fallen."
The next moment, mournful cries erupted across Babylon, the nation wailing in grief. Babylon had lost two legendary witches who had protected the Western tribes for over two centuries. No one knew what the future held for them now.
Later, history recorded in the "Lance of the Witch":
[In Year 198 of Babylon, as the three great witches approached their deaths, they prayed at the temple of Hermes. The God of Wisdom responded, sending fragrant blood rain, a flower monument, and heavenly music to bid them farewell.]
…
Deep within the Balchik Mountains.
Cersei stared in shock at the three miracles descending from heaven and the sorrowful cries ringing out across the land. She wore a stunned yet twisted smile.
"You two...even the heavens honor your deaths. Such glory. But ultimately, you left ahead of me. Even if I was stronger, it's not by much. Yet, unlike you two, I refuse to accept death willingly."
She sat upon her throne, gazing upon her coven of dark witches, speaking firmly:
"I declare: my death will not be my end! After I leave this world, you must carry on, so I may return centuries later and live again, in my second life."
She then laid herself in her coffin, closing her eyes in silence.
Inside the black, sinister palace—walls covered in grotesque paintings of monstrous Eldritch Eyes and blood-soaked scenes, a place that resembled an evil abyss—countless witches knelt, dressed in vibrant rose-colored robes, chanting mournfully:
"When our queen returns, she shall rule all and achieve true immortality."
…
Xu Zhi sat in his courtyard, quietly finishing his breakfast. After a while, he turned off the music on his phone. The flower he'd plucked was no big loss; after all, a flower monument was environmentally friendly. The watering can containing rose oil, used to create the blood rain, had plenty left, so he emptied the remainder down the drain. It wasn't suitable for gardening, anyway.
"I didn't expect that I'd just started cultivating yesterday, and today I'd already have to say farewell to the three witches who opened this path for me."
He cleaned his dishes and returned the lunchbox to Chen Xi next door.
Turning his gaze back to the sandbox, Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment before murmuring softly, "But now that the three witches are gone, there's no invincible ruler to suppress an entire era. It's the perfect time for me to research and introduce new extraordinary species."
He whispered to himself, adding, "This is the best opportunity."
Having an invincible ruler dominating the world would prevent new supernatural creatures from thriving.
During the three witches' reign, Eldritch Eyes had been confined to swamps, captured, and harvested for blood to create new witches, essentially reduced to mere blood-supply livestock.
They'd had a miserable existence.
Now, with the witches' deaths, the Eldritch Eyes would finally enjoy a reprieve.
According to their cultivation hierarchy—Apprentice Wizard, First-level Wizard, Second-level Wizard, and onward—the three witches had reached Level Six, terrifyingly powerful beings. Yet even they had not opened the path beyond Level Six before their lifespan ran out.
Lilith, their successor, was only a Fourth-level Wizard—the strongest remaining now.
There was no choice; each turbulent era bred powerful individuals. The three witches had incredible talent far beyond ordinary people, enabling them to single-handedly pioneer an entire cultivation system.
"This is precisely the right moment to introduce new species. No longer can one species dominate everything."
Xu Zhi—a novice wizard apprentice at best—watched the sandbox thoughtfully. "This morning, the second beta test of the 'Origin of Life' began. I hope these players evolve some fascinating new species, so I can secretly insert them into this transitional period."
The Sumerian and Babylonian eras had both been histories of tribal humans struggling against nature—primitive and simplistic. For them, the dark ages were almost over, and the dawn of civilization was within reach. The witches' supernatural power system had already begun spreading.
The giant beasts, akin to prehistoric dinosaurs, posed no significant threat anymore.
"It's time to enrich the sandbox's ecology and turn up the difficulty for them," Xu Zhi considered calmly. "In the next era, I'll be the hidden hand guiding civilization, crafting a truly mystical sandbox world filled with strange species—extraordinary creatures from Western myths, not just a single Eldritch Eye akin to Cthulhu mythos."
Mysterious, eerie, bloody, unknown, and deadly.
"This is the wizarding world I envision," he said with excitement. "Wizards pursuing truth, wooden staffs in hand."
"Just imagining it excites me," Xu Zhi murmured. His cancer wouldn't wait much longer. It was time to finally develop alchemy, pharmacology, and a dazzling wizard civilization to research a cure.
"It all depends on what new extraordinary species emerge from the second beta of 'Origin of Life.' Those players' creativity will shape the next sandbox era—its ecosystem and the level of supernatural power that will follow."