CHAPTER 221: SPARK

"That is your Spark of Divinity."

"Spark of Divinity?" Oliver frowned. "What is that?" He asked.

The dragon continued to explain with a smug smile.

"It is the source of all miracles."

After saying that, it abruptly stopped.

"...hm! Is that it? Care to explain what a miracle is?" Oliver inquired.

"..."

However, instead of answering, the lips of the dragon curled up into a grin. It truly felt that it had gained the upper hand.

After all, it had something that Oliver wanted.

There was no other way for Oliver to gain the knowledge he had.

Therefore, it wanted to make a trade.

A trade for freedom.

"Why are you silent?" Oliver inquired.

Oliver guessed as to why, but there was no way he was going to make it easy on the dragon.

"I can tell you about the divine spark and miracles, but you should give me permission to speak with you outside this place."

"Before that, shouldn’t I know why a has-been god is in my mindscape?"

"You could know all that for the simple price of allowing me to speak with you outside this space."

The dragon’s thunderous voice spoke again.

Oliver was not convinced. He didn’t know what allowing that permission would entail.

Hence, he was hesitant to permit the dragon.

"Can I ask something else, first?"

"Please do."

"Golden dragon, do you know why this space has invisible flowing currents that throw me off my course?"

"Hm..." The dragon swam around. Nothing was affecting its body.

It couldn’t sense the invisible currents that Oliver spoke of.

"It must be your thoughts." The dragon replied less confidently.

"Are you not sure?"

"No, that’s why it’s free."

"He he he..." Oliver smiled.

The dragon was smart. It was unwilling to give away information for free.

"Mindscape, thought, divine spark, miracle...You are throwing a lot of unfamiliar concepts at me without explaining anything." Oliver stared at the dragon and paused.

Then, he slowly said with a heavy voice, "Are you trying to trick me?"

His question made the dragon frown.

It was not.

It didn’t even occur to it.

Well, maybe it had occurred. But it was not going to do it anyway.

Why would it do something like that while all the restrictions on it prevent it from doing so?

The dragon panicked when it noticed Oliver turning to leave again.

The vile creature before it was truly unpredictable. The dragon finally gave up on trying to secure a deal and rushed to stop him.

"Wait a minute..." It screamed and stopped in front of Oliver.

"Child, don’t be like that."

Moments ago, it was calling Oliver a vile creature. But now, it changed its tone and sighed.

"I give up. You don’t have to do anything. I will share the information for free — completely free. And, please allow me to speak with you after you’ve verified the information."

The dragon had been lonely, living inside the coin for an eternity. To be a prisoner again was not something it wished.

It desperately wanted someone to talk to and interact with.

Besides that, Oliver was its only hope for regaining its strength and freedom. How could it let the opportunity pass?

The desperation in the dragon’s voice was palpable. Oliver’s non-existent lips curled up, seeing it try to stop him.

"Free?" He asked, his tone betraying his scepticism.

"Yes, free." The dragon, resigned to its fate, answered.

"So, let’s start from the very beginning. What is the Red Sun?" Oliver asked.

"It is the Spark of Divinity."

"Care to explain what a Spark of Divinity is?"

The dragon paused and took a deep breath, or at least, it looked like that to Oliver.

Then, with a gentle shake of its whiskers, it began to speak.

"All creatures born in this world are bestowed a Spark of Divinity. It is the source of all miracles in the world. With it, you can make the impossible possible. It can change the law of the world or even destroy the world itself. You can think of it as a power that can do anything you can imagine. The ultimate form of power."

Oliver felt a shiver travel through his spine when he heard the dragon explain what a Spark of Divinity is. His liquid form trembled ever so slightly in response.

’Spark of Divinity.’ He slowly gazed back at the Red Sun floating in his mindscape.

Then his eyes moved to the Golden Sun next to it.

’If the red one is my spark, the golden one would be his.’

"Bestowed by who, and what do you mean by source of miracle?" He asked two more questions.

The more the dragon spoke, the harder it became for him to understand the situation. Still, Oliver was not going to let it be. The curious mind of his had always been searching for answers.

Now, with the help of the dragon, he was nearing something which could unravel his very existence.

This invigorated him.

With newfound enthusiasm, he waited eagerly for the dragon to continue.

The Golden Dragon saw this and quickly began to speak.

"Bestowed by who is a meaningless question. Even someone like me doesn’t know why we are born with the Divine Spark. So, how could I know who bestowed it on us?" The dragon paused and flicked its whiskers.

"However, everyone else and I believe it was bestowed...given to us...because someone with a Divine Spark can transfer it to another. Perhaps an ancient being, older and greater than gods and deities, did it. Or, someone used their Divinity to perform a miracle on a grand scale — the scale of the entire universe — and rewrote the laws, ensuring that all newborn life is born with it. Either way, it is what it is. No form of explanation will allow you to understand it."

Suddenly, the dragon paused.

"But you..." It stared into Oliver’s very soul.

"...You have seen miracles before, haven’t you?"

The dragon was making Oliver remember.

"After all, your existence itself is a miracle."

Oliver’s form trembled again.

Miracle....

Instinctively, he knew what it meant.

How else could he explain time travel?

And from the looks of it, it was not the only miracle in his life.

Oliver’s interest in the topic neared a new peak. His eyes softened as he asked,

"What are the miracles you are talking about?"

The Dragon, hearing him, grinned.

Its wide mouth opened ever so slightly and whispered.

"Your limited immortality. Your expedition into the past. Both are a miracle, right?" It asked.

"It is..." Oliver answered without hesitation.

But his focus was entirely on what the dragon had said.

"You remember my time travel," Oliver muttered, expecting a response.

"I do."

"Ha ha ha..." Oliver laughed. "You do."

He repeated the words of the dragon, uneasily.