Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 293: The Truth of the World

At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew past. A creature resembling a white dove appeared—yet its body was larger, different, adorned with radiant blue outlines. Its long, flowing tail curved gracefully like that of a phoenix.

It flew to Silvanus’s side, lowering its wings to cover his eyes. But clearly, its body was translucent—only the glowing outlines shimmered faintly in the air.

Silvanus’s train of thought was almost completely interrupted. He muttered softly, "Fool."

The bird seemed to realize its mistake and opened its beak, speaking in a distinctly human voice: "That’s rude, Silvanus. You’ve become less and less adorable!"

"The system?" Silvanus lifted his gaze, expressionless, staring at the bird flapping its wings in front of him.

The bird seemed genuinely surprised that Silvanus recognized it so easily. It screeched instinctively, "Impossible! How did you know?!"

Silvanus said flatly, "...If you don’t want to be recognized next time, you could try changing your voice."

The system paused for a moment, then coughed twice awkwardly. "Because in this form, this is the only voice I can use..."

"What about your other forms?" Silvanus suddenly asked.

The system’s wingbeats slowed slightly. The two faced each other—the green in Silvanus’s eyes shimmered under the system’s glow, reflecting a strange, mysterious light, at once foreign and oddly familiar.

After hesitating, the system finally seemed to give up and said bluntly, "I believe you’ve heard of me before."

"Oh? I wouldn’t know," Silvanus replied.

"I am Raphael."

Silvanus paused briefly, then said, "I don’t believe you."

The system almost immediately roared in frustration. Its wings flapped furiously, scattering glowing feathers like a drenched chicken. "Then what do you want?! Why don’t you believe me?! You keep pressing me with questions—don’t tell me you already know something!"

Silvanus’s face darkened. "Raphael wouldn’t act like this."

This time, it was the system’s turn to fall silent. After a long pause, it spoke again, curiosity lacing its tone: "Then what do you think Raphael should be like?" It paused for a beat, then quickly added, "Don’t overthink it—I’m just curious what kind of angel with ’noble virtues’ I appear to be in your eyes."

Silvanus didn’t respond to the system’s words—he asked again, "I’ll ask one last time. What are you?"

The system seemed so provoked by Silvanus’s tone that it actually laughed in anger, mocking him outright: "And why should I—"

But before it could finish, Silvanus’s hand shot out faster than the eye could follow, clamping tightly around its neck. A glowing circle of light flared from his fist, scattering radiant particles into the thick darkness. "Speak—or die."

The system froze. "...I never realized you were such a firecracker," it muttered.

Silvanus narrowed his eyes, saying nothing, the pressure of his grip only tightening further.

"Fine, fine! I’ll talk! I’ll talk, alright? What I said before is already divine truth—part of it, anyway! I am Raphael! Or, more accurately, a tiny fragment of his spirit!"

"Then you must be so small you’re barely a speck of dust," Silvanus sneered.

The system felt deeply insulted. It hesitated, then asked in a wounded tone, "Now... would you mind letting go of me?"

Silvanus didn’t move. His voice remained cold. "Then where is the complete Raphael right now?"

The system’s tail drooped miserably. "I wish I knew, sir..."

Silvanus released it because the system didn’t appear to be lying. The system flapped its wings to steady itself but didn’t fly away, staying near him instead.

Silvanus continued, "Why was the Cosmic Tree frozen?"

The system seemed to recall everything quickly, its tone becoming far more solemn than usual. "From Raphael’s perspective, when you tore apart the Outer God and fell, the world plunged into chaos. Michael and Gabriel used their lives to freeze the Cosmic Tree—to prevent outside forces from invading. The world that once held a path to the God Nation was already buried long before that. Raphael used his own energy to rebuild everything. He must still be in that world—but even I can’t locate him."

Silvanus frowned. "Michael and Gabriel used their lives to freeze the Cosmic Tree?"

Then... who was the Gabriel he met the other day? 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He didn’t even need to think long to find the answer.

"And Lucifer?" he asked.

The system replied immediately, "He’s still fulfilling his duty—protecting that world."

Silvanus almost laughed. He’d thought he was good at acting, but Lucifer had him beat. Well... he was his "teacher," after all.

The system spoke again: "It seems the Outer God has sensed your presence. It reached deep into the world, not just using the battles within the dungeon to invade. It’s desperate, urgent to kill you. However, after being repelled this time, it will be more cautious, waiting for the right opportunity. Though it has weakened, so have you. You’re not even a god yet; naturally, you’ve never truly matured. You are still far too small to be a god. The Outer God is cunning, always targeting newly born Cosmic Trees and fledgling gods as prey!"

"Silvanus!"

The system suddenly shouted, because Silvanus unexpectedly collapsed. It flew frantically around him—though it knew he wouldn’t die, fear still gripped it.

Fortunately, Silvanus had only fainted.

The system looked at his pale face, his lips almost entirely colorless. Its wings drooped before it finally settled beside him, extending its wings to cover his hands.

The nightmare will leave you.

Outside the dungeon, a rain of luminous arrows descended from the sky, instantly annihilating every shadowed existence on the ground.

Everything felt cleansed. Even the dark clouds above vanished quickly, giving way to a clear blue sky.

It all happened so fast that no one had time to react.

In the holding cell, Layla saw Frank’s body suddenly twist. Black smoke poured from him, pulling his flesh along with it. He now seemed like a malleable lump of dough, able to be shaped at will.

"Lay... Layla..."

Layla’s eyes widened as she rushed to Frank’s side. "Frank! You’re there. Don’t worry—we’ll save you!"

Though she said it, tears streamed down her face. From her perspective, Frank’s soul was being torn apart endlessly.

Suddenly, Layla’s hand was grabbed. She looked up at Frank—his face flickered between visible and vanishing, like smoke that could disappear at any moment.

And yet he was smiling: "I’m sorry... Layla... look... look at this world... peace... peace..."

Layla felt the strength in Frank’s hand drain away. Instinctively, she held onto it tightly, refusing to let it slip.

The entire holding cell fell into an eerie silence. Frank’s body gradually dissolved, dissipating... until even the hand Layla held turned to smoke, vanishing without a trace...