Time rewound to not long ago.
Unlike the chaos outside at this moment, within the Moon, Laine's creation was still ongoing.
At the core of the Moon, chaotic chronology was released. Just like at the beginning of creation, at this moment, time had no scale.
This was a feature deliberately preserved by Laine. In his view, both chaotic and orderly space-time had their value, as long as they were controllable, they had a reason to exist.
Therefore, in the newly born world, the 'deeper' it was, the more chaotic the order of time. The 'shallower' it was, the more dominant the order.
But at the very core, it was as orderly as the outside world, and that was also to be the future dwelling of Laine.
At this nascent boundary, Laine no longer had a body, his spirit floated at the origin of the world. Materials from his disassembled divine form combined with the source power from the life vial, giving birth to a material that was both ethereal and solid.
He used this material to form earth and water, the most fundamental substances in the world, but Laine needed something else to separate them.
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, to divide the waters from the waters," he said.
And so, in the realm of spirituality, there was a firmament, dividing the waters below from the waters above.
He called the firmament Sky. There was evening, and there was morning; this was the second day.
...
With light and dark, with the sky, the world needed a substantial entity to bear it. So Laine's spirit moved to the midst of the waters, also the very midst of the world.
"Let the waters under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear," he said.
And the waters were collected to one place, and he called the dry land Earth and the gathering of the waters he called Seas.
"Let the earth bring forth grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruits with seeds in it, upon the earth after their kind!"
And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs yielding seeds after their kind, and trees bearing fruits with seeds in it after their kind.
There was evening, and there was morning; this was the third day.
...
The land appeared, the seas were separated, and with the help of the life vial, Laine began to create beings evolved from spirituality, starting with the simplest plants.
He could feel that the outside battle was becoming more intense, and the offspring of the Twin Gods of the Dark Night were also growing at an accelerated pace. But none of this concerned him, for in this realm of chaotic chronology, he could easily stretch a day into seven.
Laine's spirit looked up at the empty sky, where he solidified the concepts of the Moon and celestial bodies. The world of spirituality did not need the Sun, but there would be more than one Moon.
He said, "In the expanse of the sky, let there be luminaries to divide day from night; they shall serve as signs for the seasons, days, and years; let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth!"
And thus, he made a great light, divided into seven; he also made stars, corresponding with the seasons, days, and years.
He set these luminaries in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern day and night, and to separate light from darkness.
There was evening, and there was morning; this was the fourth day.
...
As celestial bodies appeared, Laine had nearly exhausted his reserves. But aside from what he obtained in this world, he also had legacies from a past life.
While the external world still lacked stars, the origin of stars was already in gestation. As he created the stars, the corresponding origin in the world began to be drawn upon by him. This extraction would not cease until the true God of Stars was born.
Drawing from Memory, he extracted the concepts of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and once again poured the liquid from the life vial. He could not yet create beings in reality on his own, but in the realm of spirituality, he was the sole supreme entity.
"Let the waters be filled with living creatures; and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky!" he said.
Thus, he created great fish and various living creatures that teemed in the waters, each after their kind; and every winged bird after its kind.
He blessed them to be fruitful and multiply. And so they were endowed with the ability to reproduce and gradually increase in numbers.
There was evening, and there was morning; this was the fifth day.
...
Primitive life had appeared, and what followed was the hardest part.
Laine had once thought of creating humans, but this was beyond his capability, for in his "Memory," there were no pure beings made entirely of Spirituality.
So, he abandoned his original idea and mixed his own flesh and blood with the Origin of Life; he separated the good from the bad, the superior from the ordinary. He would use them to create life respectively.
He said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, insects, and the beasts of the earth, each according to its kind!"
And so, he made the beasts of the earth, each according to its kind; the livestock, each according to its kind; all sorts of insects of the earth, each according to its kind.
He said, "I will create them in my image, after my likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth!"
Thus, in his own image, he created divine life; that is, he created them in his image; Spirituality was in opposition to matter, thus the divinely feminized took on the form of females as they came into existence.
He blessed them, promising them eternal life. He commanded them to manage the Order of this world in his stead.
There was evening and there was morning; it was the sixth day.
···
The consumption of the many Origins by Spirituality was reaching its end. Time and Spirituality were the foundations of this world's existence, with Order and Chaos separating within and without the world.
Laine stood at the root of the world, having shaped a new body for himself. He had taken most of the power of the Vase of Life, leaving behind the Source Power aligned with matter.
From then on, the liquid from the vase would only affect matter, having no effect on Spirituality. All spiritual life in the world was to be governed by the dominion of Spirituality.
The world grew increasingly incensed, though to use a personifying word like "incensed" might not be fitting—it was simply instinctively resisting the loss of authority. The Twin Gods of the Dark Night were approaching the end of their divine birth, but Laine was also facing the last day of creation.
He removed the Godhood of Prophecy, he removed the Godhood of History, and finally, he took out the three Oracle Stone Tablets.
He cast the three into the Origin of the new realm, and in an instant, Spirituality devoured them.
Thus, the time and fate of the Chaos World were shaken, their Source Power endlessly pouring into the newborn realm. Transformed by the power of Spirituality, the Oracle Stone Tablets were reborn into the world.
From then on, the world of Chaos had no predetermined fate. Spirituality would not interfere with what was destined; it intervened in the unknown.
Reaching out his hand, Laine picked up the first tablet. Just as in the beginning, the tablet was inscribed with a maxim—Know thyself.
Laine preserved these words but added new content above them—Know the world, then know thyself.
Using the authority of Memory, he engraved everything he had witnessed since the beginning of creation onto the tablet. He assigned it "History," carving it with new characters belonging to the Spirit Realm.
And thus, the embryonic form of a powerful Divine Artifact was born. It symbolized the world's past, an immutable truth.
Reaching out again, Laine picked up the second tablet. Similarly, it was inscribed with a maxim—Nothing in excess.
He kept those words, supplementing them with a new maxim—Nothing in excess, let the law be your guide.
He engraved the chronology on it, the rules between realms on it. Its content would evolve as the realms were perfected. From that moment on, it became the "Codex of Creation."
Last, he picked up the third tablet. "Promises bring pain," read its content.
He wiped away these words, extracting the Source Power of the most ancient script. The tablet was not yet ready to appear in the world, so Laine set it aside.
At that moment, at the root of the world, several Divine Artifacts were in the process of forming. Some belonged to Life, others to Chronology—all were creations spontaneously born from the Origin. Laine glanced at them and then allowed them to continue their gestation.
Next, he extended his hand beyond the world and caught some of the spittle shed by the Heavenly Father, then seated himself at the center of the realm.
He had created all the elements of heaven and earth, and he named this realm the "Spirit Realm."
There was evening and there was morning; it was the seventh day.
······
At the same time, outside the Spirit Realm. The new realm was now stable, and in the Underworld's sky of the Underworld, the silhouette of the Lady of the Night began to quietly emerge.
"I am late by a step."
Her black dress gently swayed, releasing invisible power. In the next moment, before this supreme figure, the entire Underworld began to tremble slightly.