I Have a God Simulator

Pawa arrived in Yao City with a shrunken stomach, exhausted and starving.

The sixteen-year-old newcomer stood on the street, watching the passing pedestrians with a mixture of confusion and anxiety.

The people here wore linen clothes, leather armor, woolen coats, or long black robes. They all looked respectable, as if each had their own standing.

Pawa was bare from the waist up, with only a filthy strip of black cloth covering his loins and thighs.

His body was covered in scabs. His wrists and ankles bore the calluses and festering sores from rope burns, and a brand on his back marked him as a slave.

The occasional glances from passersby made Pawa burn with shame. He couldn’t help but want to flee.

’But where could I flee?’

’If I leave this Holy City, I’ll find Slave Traders everywhere.’

’I’d just be caught again, sold to another master, and go back to being whipped and tortured.’

He recalled the tall man’s words.

"Don’t get caught by the Slave Traders again. You might not run into me a second time."

The man called himself Tonghai and led a force called the Northern Divine Hall Army. The Slave Traders cursed them through gritted teeth, calling them pirates, thieves, and butchers, yet they were deathly afraid of him.

Pawa clenched his fists.

’I’m not going anywhere. I’ll die in this Holy City before I leave. I’m never again going to be whipped like a pig or a dog, burned with fire, stabbed with spears, forced to drink slop and eat pig feed.’

Pawa’s gaze swept over his surroundings, finally landing on a tall, sacred building.

The Divine Hall.

This was the God’s original Divine Hall, the very first place of Miracles.

Pawa walked along the street toward it.

Beside the white jade-like Divine Hall knelt throngs of people, all there to pray to and worship the God.

Among them were Scholars in long robes, Hunters and Adventurers clad in leather armor, Farmers and fishermen dressed in linen, and even islanders and mountain folk from foreign lands, identifiable by their strange attire and different skin tones.

They spoke different languages, but all faced the same Divine Hall.

Here, language was not a barrier.

Everyone understood that they were all the same. Before the God, they were nothing more than devout Believers and humble followers.

Pawa followed their example, sinking to his knees on the ground.

’Will the God answer?’

’I don’t know.’

Pawa’s home was a small island in the south. There was no Divine Hall there, but the Gospel of Lord Yao God had spread even to its shores.

He’d heard that the God hadn’t bestowed any Miracles or Blessings for many years.

Even the God’s closest Attendants, the Apostles, had all but vanished. Only the King of White Bones would occasionally appear to save those harmed by monsters.

Pawa closed his eyes and prayed silently.

’Omnipotent Lord God...’

’Pawa begs you, please give me guidance so that I never have to be a slave again.’

The young islander prayed with all his heart.

’I have no other choice.’

’As long as I don’t have to be a slave, as long as I can survive and have a full belly, I’ll do anything.’

Hunger and thirst made his head swim and his vision darken. His body felt limp and boneless.

Pawa felt someone help him up as water trickled past his lips.

He greedily gulped down the sweet water. ’Drink more, just a little more. The water will fill my stomach.’

A voice spoke beside him.

"Pious one, you need to rest and eat. The God’s Blessing has given us much food, for it is His wish that none of us go hungry."

He opened his eyes to find a peculiar old man standing before him.

Like Pawa, the old man was bare-chested, his skin dark and swarthy. He wore a string of garlic cloves around his neck, and a smile spread across his thin, weather-beaten face.

The man handed him a wheat cake. "Eat this. You need your strength."

Pawa wolfed down the wheat cake.

The man nodded. "That’s all I have. Good luck, young Believer."

When the old man turned to leave, Pawa grabbed him.

"Your... your name."

Pawa’s grasp of the common tongue was poor; no one ever teaches a slave to read or speak properly. Having heard it so much, however, he could understand what others meant.

"I am an Ascetic. Like you, I am a servant of Yao God."

The old man grinned, revealing a row of jagged teeth, then turned and walked away.

Nothing like this had ever happened to Pawa before.

Someone had helped him for no reason, simply because he was praying at the Divine Hall.

’This must be the God’s guidance.’

Pawa raised his head and looked at the dazzlingly white Divine Hall, a dazed expression on his face.

’The God heard my prayer. That’s why the Ascetic appeared to give me food.’

Another passerby stopped and asked him, "Are you an escaped slave?"

Pawa’s heart clenched. He lowered his head, pretending he didn’t understand.

The person tried a few different pronunciations and then, to Pawa’s astonishment, actually spoke the dialect of his home island. Pawa was so shocked he couldn’t help but flinch.

The person laughed. "Ah, so you’re from Karlo Buzza Island. Lift your head, my friend. No Slave Trader is going to drag you back."

"Yao City forbids the slave trade, as well as the capture and ownership of slaves. I used to live on Qubini Island, not far from Karlo Buzza, so you could say we’re from the same area."

Huh?

’He’s from the Southern Islands too.’

Pawa cautiously raised his head. The man was dressed in black and wore a cotton flower on his chest—the symbol of the Divine Hall Council, which marked him as an official Scholar of the council.

"My name is Qubiluo’er."

The black-robed Scholar said, "Rest assured, this is the Holy City. No one is bought or sold here. As long as you have faith in Lord Yao God, you will be accepted. What is your name?"

"Pawa."

"Pawa, go to the Divine Hall Council. It’s by the entrance of the outer side hall. Someone there will give you a blanket and help you find a job that provides food, so you won’t have to live in hunger and fear any longer."

"Until then, you can stay in the thatched huts outside the side hall."

Qubiluo’er and he were from the same area and of a similar age.

But while he had become a slave, the other was a respectable Scholar with high standing.

This made Pawa’s shame even more profound; he could feel the scars on his body burn with it.

It was all because Qubiluo’er had left home for Yao City, while he himself had been sold as a slave to Yan City.

"Why?"

Pawa asked in his dialect, "Why are you helping me?"

Qubiluo’er just smiled, offering no reply.

For a moment, Pawa felt like crying.

He didn’t know why. It wasn’t fear, nor was it jealousy. It was some nameless, indescribable feeling that made his eyes sting and his heart ache with a strange sorrow.

Suddenly, a white light flared from a distant tower. It was a gentle, balmy light, like that of a giant oil lamp, and it washed over everyone with its warmth.

A second light followed, erupting from a tall stone Monument in the center of the square.

Pawa flinched, startled.

The surrounding citizens and Believers, however, all raised their heads, their faces breaking into unabashed smiles. The entire street began to echo with loud cheers.

"A Miracle from the God! A Blessing from the God!"

"The great God has returned!"

"The ancient Monument has finally been blessed by a Divine Miracle!"

"The Divinity School! The Divinity School has gained the Lord God’s approval! This is a reward from the God!"

...

Pawa looked on, bewildered.

"You asked why we should help others? Let me tell you, Pawa," Qubiluo’er said slowly from beside him.

"Because we are the God’s firstborn!"

The young Scholar pointed to the two glowing buildings in the distance, his face filled with confidence and conviction. "This proves we are the greatest city."

"No matter how the Eras may change, we will always defend the glory of the Holy City!"

...

Luh Yao yawned.

’Too bad the lighthouse collapsed on its own during the changing of the Era. Only Yao City’s Monument and Divinity School could be converted into wonders.’

In the upper-right corner, his Faith dropped by 8,000.

This was the first time Luh Yao had actively built wonders.

Only the first wonder came with a construction discount. The Monument cost 3,000 Faith, while the Divinity School that followed cost the full price of 5,000 Faith.

Initially, Luh Yao had been more optimistic about Yan City. Its economic foundation was robust, and its citizens, from the highest to the lowest, were enterprising and ambitious.

But in the end, it collapsed from within.

In the first season of the Pixel World’s own Tale of Twin Cities, it was Yao City, the city that united the hearts of its people, that had the last laugh.