Shepherding Humanity

"Your Highnesses…"

A witch tearfully trembled next to them. She knew what it meant for the two legendary guardian goddesses of Babylon to come to the temple at the moment of their death.

"Lilith, you are the kingdom's next ruler. You must not weep."

Medea smiled softly as she looked at the young girl beside her.

Medea wore a black witch's robe decorated with mystical blue patterns. She stood tall in front of the giant statue of the God of Wisdom. "Great God of Wisdom, we have failed you after all. We foolish mortals could not take that final step, and understand the final mystery that is Alchemy. We have failed to pry open the divine Gate of Truth…"

"O thrice-exalted Hermes. We. Have. Failed."

Cassandra's gentle face also had a sad smile. The subdued sunlight fell on her beautiful face as she looked up at the sky. "The end is near. Many long years have gone by, and the three witches you taught back then have each found their own path. Soon, we’ll reach our final destination. Circe, it should be the same for you, right? It's a pity that we’re a world apart and can't see each other again."

“Reporting!”

At this time, a palace guard entered and presented them with a note written on animal skin.

Medea frowned a little. She read the note, and smiled wistfully. "Although the three of us have fought for our entire lives, Circe couldn't forget us in the end. Look, she has written us a letter."

"Oh Circe…"

Cassandra also had a complicated expression on her face. She read the letter and felt as if she could see Circe’s smiling face before her. She really missed her. After all, they have been companions for hundreds of years.

"It’s also time for you to go, huh?"

…….

Countless people have gathered within the Royal Palace of Babylon, on the stone plaza outside the Temple of Wisdom. They wailed and prostrated, unable to hold back their grief.

"The three great god queens are about to depart this world!"

On this day, all in the nation knew that the two great guardian goddesses of Babylon were about to die. Every household began to hang up white silk as they sang Babylonian ballads of mourning.

Children formed choirs in the streets, singing songs of lament.

The ballads told the life story of the three great goddesses… Their battle prowess may not have reached the same heights as Gilgamesh's, but their great deeds have made them comparable to gods in the hearts of the people.

They were the angels who watched over the human race!

Medea, the Witch of War, led men to glory on the chaotic battlefield.

Cassandra, the Witch of Spring, guarded life, creating medicine and watching over livestock.

And the renegade Witch of Ruin, Circe, who sowed chaos and curses… Though she may have committed many crimes, it did not change the fact that she has also accomplished many great deeds.

Unfortunately, even if her end was drawing near, and she would die in a remote place far from home, Circe did not want to meet her two close friends again, and only sent a letter.

"If Circe returned, then she would be seated on the throne within the royal palace of Babylon, alongside the other two witches… In these final moments, there will not be a single person who would move against her. For her past glory, she deserves that much."

The people were silent. Their hearts were overwhelmed with emotion.

The witch Circe was also one of the great founders who had pioneered civilization. At the moment of her death, even though many Babylonians resented her, they found it difficult to completely hate her.

Her accomplishments were greater than her crimes.

The Three Witches began their journey in a primitive era.

They were the only survivors of the great ordeal that had killed all other women in the tribe. The three of them worked together and protected their entire tribe when it was still small and weak.

They were the ones who stepped forward at the most dangerous moment in the history of the tribe, and risked their lives in against the Baboko great beast. In that bloody battle, Medea had an epiphany between life and death and created the Heaven’s Hammer magic spell. She struck down the Baboko like an all conquering war goddess, and reached a new level.

They were the ones who developed the basis of Meditation, Magic, and Alchemy. They codified the magic system and passed down their knowledge in the tomes "A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation and Magic" and "The Occult Gate of Truth", revolutionizing the world.

They were also the ones who led the Babylonian tribes in clearing the forests of dangerous beasts, granting them a comfortable living environment.

The glorious achievements the three guardian goddesses of Babylon had left behind were too numerous to count.

The three of them had pioneered the era of magic, and lifted the human race from the bottom of the food chain. They fought against nature, and competed against giant beasts. They defied heaven and sought immortality. Some people even compared them to the Hero King Gilgamesh, and declared that the Three Witches were in no way inferior to the Hero King of old.

But, for all their glory, the Three Witches have reached the end of their lives.

"You don’t have to weep for us."

"Humans can not avoid sickness, old age, and death. We are no different."

The two witches laughed as they looked at each other.

They stood on the plaza, and paid homage to the magnificent statue of Hermes as they looked up at the boundless blue sky. Crystalline tears sparkled on their beautiful faces.

"If I could meet the exalted God of Wisdom once again before I die, then I would have no regrets."

"We have failed to meet the Great God’s expectations, and could not develop the art of Alchemy. We have come to apologize for our ineptitude."

"O God, will you come see us again? Or, do you believe that we have come with the intent of slaying God?"

…….

At that moment, Xu Zhi was sitting on a chair by the doorway, silently eating his lunch.

He sighed as he chewed on some carrots. "You have already done very well. You are both extremely gifted geniuses. You have moved the entire world, and almost single-handedly pioneered civilization. There’s no way you are inept."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to cultivate now either. I'm the inept one compared to you two… You should not die amidst regret and self-reproach, believing yourselves to be foolish for being unable to comprehend the wisdom of God."

Humans were not made of stone, no one could be completely unfeeling.

Gilgamesh and the Three Witches had all been great heroes and charismatic rulers, but none of them could defeat old age.

They had engraved their glory on the pages of history, but even for them, death was inevitable. Xu Zhi himself was also troubled by his impending death.

He couldn’t help but feel sad.

But it was difficult for him to meet them one last time.

He couldn’t simply enter the sandbox as the Great Beast of Wisdom like before, and would have to close down the “Spore Evolution” game, enter the smaller sandbox, and evolve a new species before he could go meet them. This would take him at least half a day.

"Since I can't meet with you guys before you die…"

Xu Zhi sighed and put down his lunchbox. He wanted to do something for them before the end.

"Hive Mind, slow down their time flow for now and make it the same as reality." Xu Zhi stood up. He picked up the watering can next to him and put in several drops of rose oil. The water in the can took on a light crimson hue.

He held the canteen and sprinkled water on the land.

"By my will, at the moment of the Three Witches’ death, the heavens will rain down blood, the scent of flowers will envelop the land, and the entire world will weep!"

Boom!!!

The resonant voice shook the heavens.

The exalted voice of God resounded over mountains and rivers. His divine edict cut through the white clouds in the sky and traversed all corners of the world, lingering for a while within the Babylonian royal palace.

"This is!?"

"It’s a miracle!!!"

"This is the voice of the great God of Wisdom, Mercury…"

Medea's weathered face was wet with tears as she listened to the world-spanning voice.

Pitter patter.

The scent of flowers spread throughout the entire world as crimson raindrops fell from the sky.

"The rainwater smells so sweet."

The rain fell on Medea and Cassandra as they looked at each, their beautiful faces tranquil. They both had gentle and happy smiles.

Next, Xu Zhi plucked a flower growing in the yard, and used a knife to carve letters on its stem. He had far greater strength than ordinary people, and would not lose out to the strongest weight lifters. Thanks to his magic training focusing his mind, he now also had extremely fine control, and could carve letters on a small stem with ease.

He gently flicked his hand.

Whoosh!!!

The pink flower flew like a dart across a distance of more than ten meters and struck the stone plaza within the palace..

"By my will, at the moment of the Three Witches’ death, a great flower monument will descend from heaven, in honor of their glory!"

Boom!!!

The resonant voice descended once again from heaven, stirring the white clouds.

A flower that was hundreds of meters tall, comparable in size to the magnificent royal palace of Babylon, fell from the endless sea of clouds and rooted itself in the plaza.

"What an unimaginably large flower!"

Numerous newly initiated witches sighed in awe at the beauty of this flower monument.

Medea and Cassandra were women, and naturally loved beautiful things. This fragrant crimson rain and gigantic flower was an extremely romantic gesture. Though they already knew that God had unfathomable power, they could not help but be moved and spoke in tears: "God of Wisdom, we are willing to serve you all our lives. But, we are about to die…"

"I can't save you from death, only you can save yourselves. This is the only thing I can do." Xu Zhi sighed and turned on his phone’s speaker, and started playing Beethoven's Symphony of Fate. "Like how the Creator once satisfied Gilgamesh’s final request by answering his three questions, the only thing I can do is let you die without regrets."

"By my will, at the moment of the Three Witches’ death, heaven will play a divine requiem, and all the world will mourn their passing!"

The sky rumbled.

The world shook.

The beautiful melody resounded throughout the land.

"This is the music of heaven!"

"What a beautiful melody! Like a river flowing down from heaven!"

Beethoven's Symphony of Fate shook the people’s heart. The glorious symphony was like a raging river, depicting a valiant struggle against fate that has ended in complete triumph.