"Because you humans are both short-lived and forgetful..." Vakiris seemed to regain a sense of superiority, unconsciously picking up the coffee again, "Just a few decades are enough for history to be replaced by lies, something almost unimaginable for my race, who possess long lifespans. You seem to completely forget that no matter how comforting a lie may be, it is still a lie."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Luo Lan retorted sharply, "Didn't you deliberately ignore Sistalis's warnings? Apart from those who experienced it firsthand, I'm afraid none of the new generation of devils know about it, right?"

Vakiris opened its mouth, but couldn't respond, and finally could only drink its coffee in silence, which was equivalent to acquiescing.

"Let's make a conjecture," he brought the topic back to the betrayer of the gods, "Perhaps the vague figure that 'Thousand Shapes' saw a thousand years ago is the same person as Lan in the Dream World. It's a pity that your mentor couldn't form a fixed domain in the realm of consciousness at that time, so he didn't get a definite hint."

"You believe the words of the gods' messengers?"

"I believe what I see—an enemy claiming to be a servant of the gods is eroding this world, and indeed, remnants of past civilizations have been discovered in reality. I don't know where those victorious civilizations went, but the fact is, they never came back. Don't you find that strange?"

"Perhaps there is a more beautiful world suitable for ascending races to live in—"

"Like the Source of Magic?" Luo Lan sneered, "Ascension is a path to becoming a god, but after becoming a god, you can't freely return home. What kind of god is that? And when you get close to the Source of Magic—that is, the Erosion Rift—will you really feel good and comfortable? If that's the case, you should have jumped in long ago."

This guy... actually sent witches to follow me all the way. Vakiris thought resentfully, but couldn't refute it. Standing in front of the scarlet rift at that time, it only felt a strong sense of danger.

"Even so, what can you change?" After a long silence, the Nightmare said in a low voice, "It's all too late. If you were a member of the Cloudsoar School, and this conjecture had been made a thousand years earlier, there might have been a chance to reverse the situation. But after my race obtained the inheritance of the Third Civilization, war became inevitable."

The Third Civilization... referring to the underground civilization, most likely. Luo Lan couldn't help but slow down his speech, "The so-called inheritance... what exactly is it?"

Vakiris was stunned, and then chuckled, "What, you haven't obtained inheritance fragments at all."

"Answer His Majesty's question!" Phyllis chided.

"We don't need any fragments, His Majesty's knowledge is enough!"

"Only you barbaric monsters would start a war for a stone!"

Just when Luo Lan thought the other party wouldn't answer the question, the Nightmare opened its mouth, "I will tell you—and then you will understand why it is impossible to reverse the situation now. Once a civilization has tasted the sweetness of inheritance, it will not forget that sweet taste, and will only become more eager for more." It paused, looking at the witch beside Luo Lan, "You are the best example now—if you were asked to give up all the changes brought about by this King of Graycastle, would you be willing?"

"You mean..."

"That's right, inheritance fragments are just one type of inheritance path," the other party's words confirmed Luo Lan's long-held suspicion, "When you impart the new knowledge here to humans, it is equivalent to humans obtaining the inheritance of the Dream World. However, the effect of fragments is more thorough and more comprehensive—it is not aimed at individuals, but at the entire civilization."

Then Vakiris spoke of the "Path of Integration" more than a hundred years after the end of the First Battle of Divine Will, a final war that the Union had never known.

"You should also know that the footprints of the Third Civilization once covered most of the continent—if my race occupied the Blackstone Domain, humans occupied the Dawn Realm, and the Second Civilization occupied the Sky-Sea Realm, then the Third Civilization was the master of the underground world. They were like earthworms, extremely fragile, but had a unique way of using magic."

"Unfortunately, these guys had bad luck and encountered something they shouldn't have. When they were digging and tunneling, they encountered a geological fissure that went directly from the Blackstone Domain to the Sky-Sea Realm. It doesn't matter if you don't understand, just understand that they accidentally opened up the barrier between their lair and the Sky-Sea Realm. The latter took the opportunity to invade the Blackstone Domain and drove those earthworms into retreat."

"If we could have lent a hand, they might have had a chance of survival, but for the race, it was also the best time to verify the rumors of the relic. So the then-Promoter King led a team to attack the fleeing Third Civilization from behind and blocked them in Ghost Valley."

"This place is located between two mountain peaks, and its area is about half the size of Fertile Plains. There are winding underground rivers and terraced formations on both sides for thousands of miles. The drop in the valley floor varies greatly. One moment it may be an underground cave, and the next moment it may become an open-air hill. Even if the earthworms are good at digging holes, it is difficult to completely conceal their whereabouts."

"This war lasted for nearly ten years, and more of my race's Native Bodies were buried here than died at the hands of humans in the First Battle of Divine Will. The final result was that the King and the Sky-Sea Realm each obtained a part of the inheritance fragments."

Luo Lan couldn't help but hold his breath. Although he didn't want to show that he was eager to know and let the other party be proud, this news still made him forget to control his expression for a moment.

"And then?"

"That's it."

"Huh—?"

"I mean the coffee." Vakiris licked its lips, "You said we would talk while eating, didn't you?"

Luo Lan was immediately speechless. Even at this point, it was still trying to regain the initiative in speech. Should he say that the other party was too competitive, or too proud? But after complaining inwardly, he immediately called the waiter and ordered three more Peninsula Coffees, "You can continue."

"Integration is not that complicated. The King placed the fragments he had seized together with my race's inheritance fragments, and the two were merged into one—at that moment, we took over a part of what the other party had once possessed: language, knowledge, magical techniques... even life." The Nightmare said slowly, "The surviving 'earthworms' withered and died like weeds, and the power of the race also took a qualitative leap. Magic seemed to have unveiled its veil to us. All kinds of knowledge emerged in our minds. Whether we were willing to accept it or not, we couldn't deny it—the race was far more powerful than it was during the First Battle of Divine Will."

"From that moment on, no one doubted the gift of the gods. As I said, once you have tried this feeling, you can never forget it." It picked up a new cup of coffee and said, "Now you understand what 'too late' means, right? No matter what you get from the Dream World, as long as you get the human inheritance fragments, all of this will belong to the victor. You want to use the warning of the betrayer of the gods to stop this war? That would only be a waste of effort."

Even mentor Sistalis couldn't do it, let alone a human male.

"Indeed..." Luo Lan sighed, "But I never intended to stop the war with warnings."

"...What do you want to say?" Vakiris frowned.

"The only thing that can stop war is war itself." He stared at the Nightmare and said.