I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 429: Chapter 426: God’s Game

The activity of the earth’s veins subsided, and the seawater was no longer as turbulent as before. The entire ocean grew gentle and friendly.

All the creatures of the great sea celebrated, and joy spread through the very waters.

This was a gift from their god. The god had heard the cries of his subjects and listened to their heartfelt prayers.

The stable environment allowed civilization to enter a period of flourishing development. The entire ocean was a scene of thriving prosperity.

However, more creatures meant more wishes.

All the chaotic and worldly desires of the mortal realm flowed into Mo Ling’s mind with every prayer:

”O God! I wish for my people to become the strongest tribe in this region and swiftly conquer our formidable foes.”

”O God, I beg you, let our wantonly expanding enemies meet their doom. Protect our home.”

”May we find enough food on our next voyage, and may those blasted raiders be caught in a terrifying storm.”

”O God, grant us calm seas for our raid. If we succeed, I will offer you my most priceless treasure.”

”...”

Some of these wishes were contradictory, others were steeped in greed. Innumerable impure thoughts converged, leaving Mo Ling’s mind unable to find peace for a long, long time.

He saw the undisguised avarice of his subjects. They were fixated on their immediate desires, their eyes blinded by the swirling dust of the mortal world.

The god selflessly accepted these desires, but the filthy thoughts relentlessly polluted the ocean, shrouding it in dark clouds and filling it with black, churning currents.

Just as Mo Ling was being tormented to the point of agony by these chaotic thoughts, the vast voice descended once more:

”Because you selflessly fulfilled your subjects’ wishes, the entire ocean has been devoured by endless greed.”

”At first, they wanted survival. They wanted to live, to allow their species to propagate and thrive. This was their most basic wish.”

”Once their species prospered, they began to worry for their own safety. They wanted to become stronger, to completely eliminate all surrounding elements of instability. Suspicion festered, they grew wary of one another, and from that point on, their wishes were no longer pure.”

”There is no end to desire. When they become powerful enough, they begin to pursue even more particular wishes—love, dignity, self-worth... these intangible things.”

The vast voice echoed within Mo Ling’s body, but it could not suppress the ever-swelling prayers of his subjects:

”God, I want her to fall in love with me!”

”I want everyone to respect me! I want to be at the very top!”

”God, can you tell me what the meaning of my existence is? My whole life has been one of war, fighting my way across the entire ocean...”

”...”

The wishes began to grow bizarre.

There were even some prayers that Mo Ling himself could not grant; the wishes were too abstract, too difficult to comprehend.

’What is the meaning of existence?’

Mo Ling heard many of his subjects ask him this question, and he had no idea how to answer.

The chaotic wishes caused Mo Ling great distress. His subjects’ prayers had become a tormenting, demonic chorus that made him suffer beyond words.

And those truly simple, pure wishes were buried under the chaos of desires, never to see the light of day.

Mo Ling could no longer hear clearly what his subjects were saying.

The seawater gradually grew murky, and dark clouds gathered overhead. ℴℴ𝘮

”Do you wish to create companions to share your work?” the voice sounded again, asking Mo Ling.

’Companions?’ Mo Ling suddenly realized that he was, in fact, far too lonely.

He alone had shouldered all the turmoil of the great sea, endlessly fulfilling those tiny, humble wishes for longer than he could remember.

’If I had companions, things would probably be much easier.’

Mo Ling was taking the easy way out. He knew that, as a god, he was already failing in his duty. He should have been the one to personally decide which wishes ought to be granted.

’A god shouldn’t have companions, nor should he slack off.’

But now, he was just too tired.

”I do need some companions.”

The instant Mo Ling’s voice fell, innumerable golden lights once again erupted from the sea.

Immediately after, terrifying cracks appeared in the golden light. These cracks spread continuously across the surface, beginning to divide the sea.

Mo Ling felt his own body suddenly begin to tear apart.

’So creating companions means dividing myself.’ Mo Ling instantly understood everything.

The sea was Mo Ling’s body, and the golden light could only exist attached to the seawater.

When the golden light split, the new light also needed a home.

The division was agonizing for Mo Ling. The sensation of his body being forcefully carved apart was unbearable.

”Stop.” The splitting of the golden light ceased.

In the end, Mo Ling created only two companions.

These two companions also became small ”puddles” of their own.

Newly born and clueless, they circled Mo Ling endlessly, constantly fiddling with their own bodies, causing the creatures in the sea to suffer terribly.

”Stop that!” Mo Ling hurriedly told them to stop their fooling around.

One companion listened to Mo Ling’s admonishment and immediately stopped, staying quietly to the side.

But the other was completely disobedient. It continued to do as it pleased, rolling and jumping about in the muddy pits. The living beings on its body suffered a cataclysm, and countless civilizations were wiped out as a result.

”Fun,” the lively companion said happily, watching a huge swath of the civilizations on its body die off.

”They all died,” the other companion pointed out timidly.

”Good,” the lively companion said, not feeling the least bit sad. After all, the civilizations within him weren’t just going extinct; they were constantly being born anew.

The active seawater stirred up more mud and sand, sweeping deeper nutrients into the currents. The creatures that were barely clinging to life received more nourishment. After a great reshuffling, the life within the lively companion’s body displayed a tenacious vitality.

Mo Ling had intended to stop his foolish behavior, but seeing that the civilizations within his body had already completely adapted to this environment, he no longer tried to restrain him.

Meanwhile, on the quiet companion’s body, which was like a pool of stagnant water, life was also constantly dying off due to a lack of nutrients. Only those organisms that consumed very little energy were able to eke out an existence.

Seeing this, the lively companion sidled up next to him.

”If you don’t start moving, there won’t be any nutrients, and all the life inside you will die.”

”I will grant their wishes and let them live,” the quiet companion replied.

Immediately, bursts of golden light emanated from within its body. The seawater was slowly compressed, and the density of the nutrients gradually increased, allowing the creatures to survive.

Although their methods were different, both companions slowly adapted to their own bodies. The life within them also went through a culling, and only the civilizations that were better adapted to their environment could survive.

Watching his two companions gradually get on the right track, Mo Ling felt a great sense of relief.

After the split, he had far fewer living beings within him, and he now had enough energy to discern and grant their wishes.

And so, three completely different little puddles appeared in the muddy expanse.