"Kid!"

    "If you could sit out my story,"

    "Maybe you can achieve the most amazing miracle in this world ¡­¡­"¡­¡­

    My hometown was on the edge of the glacially stretched mainland, an island very close to the mainland. Thanked to the converging of the adjacent rivers and seas, the land was fertile on the island. We grazed the huge camels there, those strong but docile creatures can be our food and clothing at ordinary times, or they can be the mounts of warriors charging into battle in times of war or hunting.

    A sage once said that the prairie horse might be more talented in fighting, but the tribal warriors did not agree with such a statement. Most contemporaries believed that sitting on huge camels could see farther and spot enemies or prey creeping in the snow more easily. Of course that was all before the huge camels extinguished.

    The tribal old men insisted that they were once young, and they said that the island we live on was once not so close to the mainland, but the nearby rivers and seas converged, causing sediment to build up, and the distance between the island and the mainland became within reach - our ancestors came to this island when the sea was frozen over, and discovered this land that had been forgotten by the ice, so it has supported an unimaginable number of people elsewhere ¡­¡­ That was also why the old people predicted that in tens of thousands of years, our island would eventually be connected to the mainland ¡ª¡ª "just like a baby who crawls a few steps mischievously, but eventually returns to its mother's arms¡­¡­" The faces of the old people when they said this, just like the naughty baby in their words¡­¡­

    Old people loved to share secrets, especially about the secrets of my home, this island. They said that if anyone is brave enough to dive deep enough into the sea floor¡­¡­ Plus, if he was lucky, he would catch the oysters, God's gift to our island. Oysters were so rare in this cold world that I could still vividly recall the drooling faces of the old people in the tribal.

    To the southwest, they said, was the highest mountain range in the world, still growing as fast as the eye could see, though it was not yet as high as the Great North Peak, which guards our home¡­¡­ For old people, growth meant endless possibilities.

    But the world north of the tribe was a place that no old man wanted to reminisce.

    When it came to the North, aparted from the hordes of mammoths, the old people only had sad expressions¡ª¡ª for them, the North was the land of the Ice Demon that too many of our forefathers never came back.

    Comparatively, the world further south awakened pleasant memories in the elderly.

    The old people said there were sweet fruits, lively birds, and juicy insects and though the elders longed for them, no one would really choose to leave the tribe to go south to live.

    "This is our home!" The aged of the tribe would proudly proclaim.

    I loved listening to the elders tell the stories of the world, but in the stories that they narrated, they always intentionally or unintentionally avoided a person ¡ª¡ª my father. In fact, no one in the tribe would talk about my father in front of me, and they wouldn¡¯t talk about me in front of my father.

    I didn't know what I did to offer my father, as far as I can remember the man didn't leave much of an expression other than hatred and disgust.

    Maybe I can guess something, but were those reasons really my fault?

    I also cried about injustice over and over again to the sea glacier. Was it my birth that took away my father's wife? Or was my father too stingy to share my grandmother's love with me? Even so, for a quite long time, I wanted to do something to awaken the love that my father should have given me.

    But, just like the iceberg did not give me a response, no matter what I do, everything cannot be changed. My father's contemptuous look still torments me¡­¡­ Over time, I stopped hoping for his love.

    Fortunately, for me, having been born in a world of ice and snow, although love was scarce, family love was not entirely absent - thanks to the year-round chaos of the sky, I could at least keep my memories about my granny and me.

    My grandmother once said, "The most beautiful thing about the sky is its eyes, and the sky has a myriad of eyes, the stars are the eyes of the sky, twinkling and amazing! "

    But I have never seen the eyes of the sky in the haze.

    Grandma said that there were many such eyes in the sky before the False God's abode was built and that they appeared at night. But after the False God's tower was built, the thick veil of mist obscured the sky, and with it the eyes of the sky.

    Grandma also said that in the eyes of the sky, there lived our ancestors who had passed away. If we pray to the eyes of the sky, we will be blessed by our ancestors. However, every time we mentioned this, Grandma's old eyes would burst into tears¡­¡­

    "But it's no use now, kid, the ancestors are gone, and I don't know where to go when I'm dead¡­¡­ Kid, you are born in such a cruel and cold world, the only thing you can learn is to rely on yourself!" In my memory, my grandmother¡¯s weeping without tears always made me cry.

    As a naive boy, I also tried to pray to my ancestors hidden in the murky sky, hoping that they would give me courage¡­¡­ The ancestors, the gods, the pioneers, the tree gods, all the heroes who ran through the galaxy, I repeated their names over and over again to gather courage¡­¡­ I desperately needed courage, for I was the son of the chief of this tribe, Poxia.

    I needed courage to face a lot of things I simply didn't want to do, such as the present ¡­¡­

    The woolly rhinoceros in front of me was a coming-of-age gift prepared by my father for me, and I considered it perhaps a perfect opportunity to change his cold attitude toward me ¡ª¡ª to gain his recognition of my bravery.

    The woolly rhinoceros was nearby. I called it Sango, and it was being lured by the mint leaves in my hand. The gentle giant with its full ¡°armor¡± was slowly approaching me.

    The cold wind stung me, and against the brisk wind, the brown hair of rhino Sango became more and more ethereal. The long horns at the tip of its nose point proudly to the sky, just like the hard glaciers behind it that will never be dissolved, silently pledging their eternal existence.

    But Sango was in the wrong place, and that was probably the only mistake he made ¡ª¡ª when the Tower of the False God merged into the background behind it¡­¡­ It also seemed to foreshadow the fate that it would have to be destroyed by "justice".

    The Tower of the False God, I did not know when this towering tower was built, nor did I know whether it really pierced the skyline and punctured the night sky¡­¡­ All I knew was that the tower had been standing there since I was born. The top of the tower and the sky were ¡°touching¡±, and the enormous wheels with leaves as big as mountains were dropping pink frost onto the ground day after day¡­¡­ The frost falling from the Tower of the False God was the reason why the stars disappeared and the temperature was always cold.

    Maybe I shouldn't have named the woolly rhino; if it hadn¡¯t been named, I think this whole thing wouldn¡¯t been so difficult.

    The outstretched hand held nothing but lies, and for a woolly rhinoceros, lies were nothing more than a ridiculous piece of mint leaf. However, the trembling hand hidden behind it held the truth of death - the Belkin Spear.

    Hidden behind the boulder by my father and the other warriors of our tribe, their gazes prompted me to make a final decision - to announce the truth to the woolly rhino Sango, to announce its death, as proof that I had become a fearless warrior.

    Even something as simple as this, I still couldn't do it well ¡ª¡ª Sango was a woolly rhino who had lived long enough, but his body didn't age, so the process became cruel and embarrassing.

    The woolly rhino struggled painfully¡­¡­ Blood, fear, and painting. With blood on my hands, I suddenly learned a truth in that moment ¡ª¡ª lies were all deadly.

    ¡°You've broken the horn of the rhino we were trading with the False God," said the father, rather disapprovingly. His voice was frozen to the coldest frost in the cold wind.

    My father emerged from his hiding place among the boulders. Of course, he delivered a resounding slap across the face - yes, from childhood to adulthood, all unpleasant things seemed to end up with a slap across the face.

    "A rhino horn that long would have fetched a good price, worth at least three ounces of Belkin's liquid, but now there is nothing. You have wasted the gift of the gods ¡ª¡ª an elusive woolly rhino and its horn! You are a total loser!"

    I wasn't going to explain myself. My father would never understand, I knew that.

    Blue Shield, the tribal warrior who came with him, was a forgiving man. He even forgave the True God for taking his hair too early. He tried to give me an approving smile with his ghastly tattooed face.

    But just as Blue Shield was about to further "generously" announce that I had completed my coming-of-age ceremony, my father stopped him with a stern look.

    Then I could not help regretting what I had done to Sango ¡ª¡ª I should have thought of such an end!

    But to be fair, for most thirteen-year-olds, the coming-of-age ceremony only requires the hunting of animals such as reindeer, walruses, and bears. However, for my coming-of-age ceremony, my father prepared a grumpy woolly rhino!

    Perhaps he was always proud as a chief and expected his son to fulfill his proud expectations, but every time I only gave my father disappointment.

    Under the setting sun, my father left with a resolute back, while his warriors helplessly raised their hands towards me. As usual, everything felt so familiar.

    In the evening, my father called me into his tent. His bulky body stood out starkly against the fire, and the flickering fire lit up emotion in his eyes ¡ª¡ª something else appeared in his eyes as he looked at me with light contempt.

    "I must let you do something. You are grown up now. As my child, you are supposed to share the tribe's worries."

    Should I be happy that my father was willing to recognize me as his child after I damaged the rhino horn?

    "What's that, dad?"

    "The False God is coming. He said he would send a messenger to our tribe."

    My father's squinting eyes, his furrowed brows, and his disgusted tone of voice, no one knew this better than I do.

    If I could find anyone my father would hate more than me, it would be the False God. Sometimes I was really grateful to him, whose existence had largely helped me to share my father's dislike.

    "Yes, father, but I still need to apologize for what happened during the day. I broke the horn of the woolly rhino, I failed to meet your expectations. I know you and Blue Shield have been tracking Sango for seven days. I¡­¡­" I stuttered in apology.

    "Sango? You gave the woolly rhino a name?"

    After a brief period of shock, my father's anger reignited in me.

    'I'm sorry, dad, I shouldn't have done it! 'I said, alarmed.

    "Stop it. In short, you should not name anything arbitrarily, add meaning to anything, will only show your weakness, do not make the same mistake as the False God¡ª¡ªname everything self-righteously, and give everything a far-fetched meaning, all these derived from the False God's extremely hypocritical and selfish heart, which is also against the will of the God. That's why they're stuck in the towers they built¡­¡­" The voice of mockery and reproach was as hard as iron, and my father's criticism once again came pouring down on me unrelentingly.

    "Never again, father." I bowed my head obediently to hide my flustered eyes from the falling strands of hair.

    "You are absolutely right. The False God is the False God and also is the cold creature who thinks he is god, who knows whether he is a cold machine or terrible demon that dwells under their pale skin. I shouldn't have made the same mistake he did."

    I repeated the words my father always used in daily life, to gain his brief recognition.

    "If it were not for the end of the hot summer and the long icy days soon to come, I would not trade with the False God." Sure enough, only the False God could deflect my father's anger, and I should be grateful to him.

    "Okay, father, I will make a deal with him, and obtain the blue fire to keep the entire tribe warm when the icy days come."

    "Besides that, there is something more important," my father said, hesitating. "The envoy of this false god is somewhat special, and you must extract more secrets from him. I have a feeling that the false gods are planning something, and I need to figure it out!"

    But why would my father entrust me with something so important, when I had just messed up a precious rhino horn¡­¡­ I couldn't figure out how, and at the moment I needed to be alone.

    Therefore, I went alone to the deserted hillside with many confused thoughts.

    At midnight, the world transformed into an enchanting place. The land became a silver sea, and the sky turned into a pink world. The only thing connecting the two was the towering tower where the false gods resided. The tower stood like a giant coral in the dream sea, with bright silver light pouring from its entire body, abruptly traversing between the heavens and the earth.

    At the top of the towering tower, four enormous tentacles intertwine and extend outward, like the long limbs of death. They continuously wave towards the earth and scatter pink dust day and night, without rest. The pink dust made the atmosphere hazy and caused the temperature to became colder and colder each day. My grandmother once said that in the world thousands of years ago, everyone was happy that the world was about to emerge from the ice and snow. However, the selfish actions of the false gods stopped everything from becoming warm and comfortable.

    "The selfish False God is afraid of a warming world because his blue skin, cursed by the God, makes it impossible for him to enjoy the sun. That¡¯s why he has stubbornly cooled the world, leaving us mortals unable to cultivate our plants, and only dependent on dangerous hunting!" This was one of the few things my father ever said that I wholeheartedly agreed with.

    The False God have defiled the God. It was said that these demons who live in the tower have faces very similar to human beings, but they overreached themselves and occupied the sky without permission, touched the pure sacred realm, intended to replace the position of the True God¡­¡­Therefore, the false gods were naturally the target of mortal hatred. Every tribe on the earth had such a legend that one day, the False God¡¯s tower between sky and earth would fall because of the arrival of the hero of the world, and the True God would come down with pure kindness and bright stars.

    However, I never thought about who would be the unparalleled man, just as I never imagined that he would quietly approach me.

    "What are you looking at?" A strange voice was like a still wind.

    As he came from the distant glacier, his body was faintly glowing with a soft blue light, and I had to admit it was the most delicate face I had ever seen. He looked as old as me, but he turned out to be very noble. Only his face was unusually pale, his long silver hair was flying in the air, and his faint smile was friendly.

    "I'm looking at the stars. I want to see the what Grandma called the eyes in the sky, but I can't see anything." My head was empty, and without thinking, I spoke plainly from my heart.

    "There's nothing to see there. Especially those 'Eyes' you're talking about, they're boring." The frail man sat with his knees folded, a chill wafting from him.

    "How¡­¡­ How do you know?" My blurted negation turned into a feeble inquiry the moment it touched his face.

    The pale face smiled, but I could not tell what kind of feelings it hid.

    "Every day I see what you call the eyes of the sky, right there, up in the tower." The thin fingers gently pointed to the sky tower behind the glacier.

    "My name is Kun, the False God as you call me. Glad to meet you."

    As my gaze followed his pointing hand and helplessly wandered in the distant, out-of-focus thoughts, he suddenly spoke boldly of the forbidden truth.

    "You? The False God?" I was totally surprised.

    The moonlit youth in front of me was actually the False God? The first time I faced the False God, I was completely panicked, and the question I asked next was now unbelievably foolish¡­¡­

    "What does the starry sky look like without fog? Are the stars beautiful and as round as eyes? Magnificent and profound, just like¡­¡­ just like falling tears?"

    "¡­¡­ There's nothing to see, really, I won¡¯t lie to you!"

    His words denied my fantasy, cold smile, as if the emotion never dwell.

    "In the sky, all that you call beautiful¡­¡­"

    "Everything is just a forgotten ¡®contract¡¯."

    The False God's expression froze, as if he really hated the stars and the sky, and that was the reason why the False God insisted on sealing them in icy mist?

    For a moment, I actually saw my father in his pale face ¡ª¡ª disdainful and hostile.