Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 476: They Should Be Happy

"Boom! Crash!"

The very moment Silvanus's hand touched the boundaries before him, a sudden tremor rang out.

Matthew turned around blankly, only to see the monster had knocked down a large tree. It slithered through the forest, parts of its body revealing themselves like a threat drawing ever closer.

Matthew couldn't help but frown. He instinctively tightened his arms around Silvanus. How strange—why did that thing dare approach him like this...?

In Matthew's eyes, the monster that had just appeared vanished as though it had never existed.

Looking down at Silvanus now burying his head against his chest, his shoulders trembling slightly, Matthew asked worriedly, "Silvanus, are you okay?"

Silvanus clutched tightly at Matthew's shirt. Hearing that, he lifted his head, a trace of moisture still lingering in his eyes. "It… it's gone, right?"

Matthew paused for a moment, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. Under Silvanus's puzzled gaze, he cleared his throat lightly. Another gust of wind shrieked through the air, as if a monster were wailing without end. Matthew immediately put on a worried expression, his face turning serious as he said, "Hold on tight to me, Silvanus. I won't let the monster take you away!"

Silvanus said nothing, but in the end he obediently clung tightly to Matthew, as if even if the sky were to collapse, no one could possibly separate them.

In truth, only Silvanus knew just how speechless he felt. The moment he touched those boundaries earlier, his memories had returned to his body. Seeing Matthew's current attitude, Silvanus truly…

So this had been Matthew's wish all along? He wanted to be strong enough to protect someone else? Or perhaps he simply wanted his and Silvanus's identities to be switched.

"Silvanus, I told you, as long as you stay by my side, you'll be safe. Don't be afraid."

Matthew clearly could have taken the opportunity to kill him, yet Silvanus realized that Matthew didn't seem to want to kill him at all. He even appeared to quite like this kind of life. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Silvanus realized that perhaps from the very beginning, Matthew had created a world like this simply to live the way he wanted.

"Are we friends now, Matthew?"

Silvanus suddenly asked.

Hearing that, Matthew's eyes almost immediately lit up. But as if recalling something, he paused deliberately, pretending to think. After a while, he finally said, "Yes, we're friends."

Silvanus said nothing, merely closing his eyes and pretending to fall asleep.

Feeling his breathing gradually grow steady, Matthew couldn't help but feel delighted.

He even adjusted the temperature to make it a little warmer before closing his own eyes, hugging Silvanus like a bear.

In the middle of the night, Silvanus abruptly opened his eyes. There was not the slightest trace of sleepiness in them. He stared at the fire before him, now reduced to faintly glowing embers, then suddenly struggled free from Matthew's arms and turned around, his gaze fixed intently on him.

If this was a world created by Matthew, then there had to be some exit or weakness. Matthew had forcibly dragged Silvanus in here during the battle only to trap them both forever. It wasn't hard for Silvanus to guess what would cause this place to collapse.

He raised his hand and gently pressed it against Matthew's chest. Beneath his palm, the heart there was beating powerfully—vivid and real.

Silvanus didn't seem to harbor any deep hatred toward Matthew. The pain from being attacked at his most vulnerable moment had faded once his memories returned.

He only wanted to ignore Matthew. But clearly, Matthew was very good at drawing attention. As someone who bore the title of protector of this world, Silvanus should have killed him after everything Matthew had done.

Yet Matthew had said he was tempted. For how long? Perhaps a very long time—through clues Silvanus had never noticed.

But how much of Matthew's words were true, and how much false? Was he truly tempted, or had he simply followed the malice of the Outer God? No one could know.

Just then, another small hand suddenly grasped Silvanus's. Silvanus lifted his gaze and saw Matthew looking at him. "Is something wrong, Silvanus?"

"Matthew, I don't want to kill you. So… could you take me out of here on your own?"

The moment Silvanus finished speaking, Matthew was shocked to discover that he couldn't move even the slightest bit.

He gasped, his eyes filled with disbelief. "That's impossible. This is my world, Silvanus—how could you possibly?!"

As he spoke, he struggled desperately, but it was useless. He truly couldn't break free from Silvanus's control!

The darkness behind them seemed to sense that an opportunity had come. It gathered into grotesque shapes and rushed toward Silvanus at the fastest speed, opening cavernous, blood-basin mouths, ready to devour everything!

Silvanus didn't move in the slightest. He merely narrowed his eyes and looked at Matthew.

"Rip—!"

Just as the darkness swallowed them whole, a tearing sound suddenly rang out. An invisible force shredded all of it, not allowing it to invade Silvanus even in the smallest way.

Matthew could do anything—as long as Silvanus did not die.

Silvanus looked into his tear-filled eyes and simply repeated, "Let me out, Matthew."

Outside, shrill howls rang out incessantly, as if scolding Matthew for being foolish. Clearly, they had thought that by taking advantage of Silvanus suddenly restraining him, Matthew would cooperate with them. In the end, the answer was no.

When Matthew heard Silvanus say that, tears streamed straight down his face. It had to be said—children's faces were always terribly deceptive. At least when Matthew was young, he had looked rather adorable. Those large, clear eyes brimming with quiet tears made Silvanus feel, for a moment, like some kind of villain.

"Can't you stay here with me, Silvanus? We could have a different future… a brighter future…"

He smiled faintly and said, "I was saving this for the future, but even now we can live better."

The moment he finished speaking, the clearing was replaced by a resplendent, gold-trimmed villa. Silvanus and Matthew were seated upon a thick, warm carpet. The clothes on their bodies had become exquisite and luxurious. The place they lived in was no longer that filthy orphanage littered with rat corpses.

With reddened eyes, Matthew looked at Silvanus. "Here, we're the masters, Silvanus. No one will ever hurt us again…"

Silvanus did not answer him. He simply stood up and looked down at Matthew from above, speaking softly, "Matthew, was our past truly that terrible and ugly? So much so that you're forever haunted by it?"

Matthew fell silent. After a long while, he finally said quietly, "The only reason I'm haunted by it… is because you were there, Silvanus."

He looked at Silvanus and smiled, yet sorrow lingered in his eyes. "I always dreamed that if we lived with different identities, would we be happier…?"

"But I never said that I wasn't happy…"

Matthew stared at Silvanus blankly, only to hear him continue, "The only one who felt unhappy was you, Matthew. Don't use me as an excuse anymore."

"No! No! Why won't you understand? Why, you bastard?! I hate you! Give my Silvanus back to me—give him back, give him back!"

Matthew roared as if he had gone mad. His form began to change. It was as though countless cracks were splitting open beneath his skin, thick black smoke pouring out endlessly, accompanied by layers of jet-black spikes.

Matthew couldn't accept it. His entire life had always been intertwined with Silvanus. How could Silvanus say he wasn't unhappy? We were supposed to be the same. I saw you cry. I saw you in pain…

"At least in all of those moments, I still had you by my side, Matthew."

A hand suddenly rested upon Matthew's dense, pitch-black skin. Matthew lowered his head blankly. He had clearly grown enormous, terrifying—while Silvanus had returned to the small, fragile form from when they had first spoken in the orphanage. Yet before Silvanus, Matthew felt as though he was still that small. In front of Silvanus, he seemed destined to remain small forever…

Silvanus tilted his head back to look at him. Clearly, Matthew was the one who possessed everything now, yet Silvanus always seemed to be the one capable of giving something.

They faced each other.

Silvanus spoke softly, "That's why I tried to grow stronger. I protected you. I wanted to travel the world with you. Wasn't it because I wanted you to be happy too?"

But it seemed that what they had sought from the very beginning was different. No matter how good Silvanus was to Matthew, it never seemed enough. He wanted more—so much more that now his heart was nothing but a hollow void…

Matthew's body suddenly exploded. Thick black smoke surged violently outward, as if trying to blow Silvanus away. The space turned pitch-dark, and only Silvanus retained any trace of color.

Then, suddenly, the sound of footsteps rang out. Someone grabbed Silvanus's hand and ran forward frantically, charging straight against the raging wind.