Chapter 355 -: 354 The universe is a grain.
Ian finished seasoning the chicken and placed it aside for the moment. Destiny had bought more than just the chicken. She had also purchased several bags of grain, a collection of different seasonings, and a few new robes for both of them.
Unfortunately, all of that had nearly emptied the money Ian had stolen earlier, which meant their current meal was probably going to be the last one they could enjoy without worrying about their expenses.
If he wanted to continue eating decent food from tomorrow onward, he would have to start working.
The herbs growing around the back mountain could be collected and sold for a reasonable amount of money, and while he was there, he could also gather anything useful for himself.
At the same time, he would have to cultivate the field he had cleared earlier. There was still plenty of work waiting for him, and the thought alone made Ian’s shoulders feel slightly heavier.
"Ah, so much work."
Ian sighed as he picked up the seasoned chicken and walked toward the courtyard.
"If only I could steal again..."
He shook his head.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly an option anymore.
By the time he reached the courtyard, Destiny had already finished preparing the hearth. The fire had taken proper shape, burning steadily beneath the arrangement of wood she had prepared.
Ian released a quiet breath.
At least she hadn’t set the entire courtyard on fire this time.
He walked toward the hearth and raised one hand. A faint fluctuation of energy passed through the air before a simple metal frame appeared above the fire. Ian placed the entire chicken on top of it, positioning it carefully so that the flames would heat the meat without burning it immediately.
Once everything was set, Ian sat down on a wooden log that Destiny had apparently placed nearby.
Destiny was already sitting there, staring at the chicken with intense curiosity.
Her eyes followed every movement of the meat as though she were observing some profound alchemical experiment.
After a few moments, she finally asked, "Now what?"
Ian glanced at her.
"Don’t you need to stir it?"
Ian stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.
"No. It’s chicken, not soup."
He leaned back against the log.
"One side at a time. There’s no need to keep turning it every few seconds. Let the heat do its work."
Destiny nodded slowly, apparently committing the information to memory.
Ian then turned his attention toward her.
Her appearance had changed slightly since earlier.
Her eyes were no longer the strange color they had possessed before. To avoid standing out too much, Destiny had altered them into an ordinary shade of pink.
Her pink hair, however, remained untouched. It was certainly uncommon, but not so unusual that someone would immediately suspect she was a goddess.
Her skin was also brown, making her appearance somewhat unusual here but still within the range of what one could expect from a beautiful human woman.
Ian looked at her profile for a moment.
He had to admit it, she was indeed beautiful.
In fact, she was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever personally spent time with.
A strange thought entered his mind.
’If she had been a human...’
Ian’s gaze softened slightly.
If Destiny had been an ordinary human woman rather than a goddess, perhaps he would have considered spending the remainder of his life with her.
He had already accepted that his lifespan was approaching its end. He no longer possessed the ambition he once had, nor did he care about becoming stronger or ruling over anything.
At least, not in this life. Starting from the next, he would pursue his goals once again.
But if he could get a chance to live simply in this life, then he wanted to spend whatever time remained to him in peace.
A quiet home, and perhaps, someone beside him.
The thought was surprisingly pleasant.
But it disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. Destiny was a goddess, that alone was enough.
Ian’s expression became colder.
Gods couldn’t be trusted.
They were the most hateful and disgusting creatures he had ever encountered, and he had spent enough time around them to know that their smiles could hide intentions far more terrifying than any monster.
Destiny might appear harmless, but Ian refused to let his guard down merely because she acted strangely and also promised to reincarnate him.
"By the way..."
Ian sighed again.
"You know, you didn’t need to go through all this just to experience mortal life, right?"
Destiny turned toward him.
Ian continued after a brief pause.
"You could have simply created an avatar, transferred your consciousness into it, and sealed away your memories and powers. Once you were finished experiencing mortality, you could have returned to your original body and recovered everything."
He shrugged.
"I’m pretty sure you could have experienced far more that way. You could have lived dozens of different lives if you wanted."
Destiny stared at him. Her pink eyes quietly met his own. Ian didn’t say anything beneath her gaze. There was something strange in her eyes.
Ian couldn’t understand it.
Destiny remained silent for several moments before finally turning her gaze toward the night sky.
Above them, countless stars illuminated the darkness. The sky seemed endless.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Destiny asked quietly, "Do you see the stars?"
Ian looked upward.
"Of course."
He poked the chicken with a wooden stick.
The meat was still hard. It hadn’t cooked nearly enough.
"Why?"
Destiny continued looking upward.
"Every one of those stars has a planet around it."
Ian’s hand stopped for a moment.
Destiny’s voice remained calm.
"And many of those planets have life. Can you imagine how vast this place really is?"
Ian didn’t answer immediately.
He had already seen it.
He had travelled through countless worlds and crossed distances that ordinary beings couldn’t even comprehend. He had stood beneath skies belonging to civilizations that had existed for millions of years and watched stars being born and dying.
Some worlds had been filled with beings that resembled humans, while others were populated by creatures that looked more like insects, plants, beasts, or things that Ian couldn’t even properly describe.
He had seen worlds where oceans covered almost everything and worlds where there wasn’t a single drop of water.
He had seen civilizations rise, he had seen civilizations disappear. And yet, somehow, Destiny’s words made the night feel different.
"I’ve been to many of them," Destiny continued. "I’m sure you have too. With powers that surpassed even the other gods, travelling between them was never particularly difficult for either of us."
Ian nodded slightly.
"That is true."
"But do you know what I find strange?"
Ian looked toward her. Destiny’s gaze remained fixed on the stars.
"This entire expanse... all these worlds, all these planets, all these living beings..."
Her voice became quieter.
"Everything is so incredibly vast."
Ian remained silent. Destiny raised her hand toward the sky.
"And yet, this entire universe wasn’t created by Fate."
Ian’s eyes narrowed, he knew where she was going, or at least, he thought he did.
Destiny continued.
"It existed before Fate."
Ian slowly stroked his chin. He had known that for a long time.
The universe had existed before the authority of Fate became what it was. He had personally travelled through countless regions of existence, witnessed the birth of stars, and seen ancient worlds that had existed long before the current order of the gods.
But knowing something and understanding its meaning were two different things. Ian had never found the fact particularly exciting.
After all, he knew what came afterward.
Fate.
That invisible authority had eventually woven itself through every corner of existence.
Every thread had eventually become entangled within its grasp. Ian himself had nearly died trying to escape it.
He had experienced firsthand what it meant to have something unseen controlling the path of his existence. Even after becoming powerful enough to kill gods, he had still found himself trapped beneath those invisible threads.
That was why the vastness of the universe never particularly amazed him anymore.
No matter how large it was, Ian knew that something was watching.
Something was controlling, something had its hands wrapped around everything.
"So where exactly are you going with this?"
Ian finally asked. He wasn’t sure why Destiny had suddenly brought up the universe and Fate.
Destiny remained silent. For several seconds, she simply looked toward the stars.
Then she spoke.
"What if I told you..."
Her voice was strangely calm.
"...that all of this is nothing more than a grain of soil?"
Ian’s expression froze.
Destiny slowly turned toward him.
"And what if I told you that we...are nothing more than a part of that grain?"