死亡听到命运的呼唤，于是它从未来走来。

Death heard the call of fate, and so it came walking from the future.

当世界还在生命熔炉时代，那时并没有死亡这一概念，直到命运的出现，生命以胞胎的形式诞生，以风烛残年的形式死去，世间的生灵这才知道原来死亡无处不在。

In the era of the Life Forges, the concept of death did not exist. It was only with the emergence of fate that life began in the form of an embryo and ended as a flickering candle in its twilight years. Only then did the beings of the world realize that death was omnipresent.

生灵们猜疑着命运与死亡哪个先来到这世间，这个问题无法回答，就好像先有鸡还是先有蛋这个问题一样，让人无法回答的不是鸡与蛋的先后，而是谁是鸡，谁又是蛋。米尔寇知道，元素之神伊兹帕鲁特也知道。

The beings speculated whether fate or death arrived in this world first. The question was as unanswerable as the riddle of the chicken and the egg. The puzzle lay not in the order but in identifying which was the chicken and which was the egg. Milco knew, and so did Izparut, the God of Elements.

生灵们惧怕死亡，特别是人类。

All beings feared death, especially humans.

人们将掌握死亡力量的米尔寇想象成一个吃人的魔鬼，那些人类中的贵族就将幼童杀死献祭米尔寇以求逃离属于他的死亡，那些幼童死去的灵魂惨嚎，哇哇大叫。

Humans envisioned Milco, the wielder of death’s power, as a man-eating demon. Among them, the nobles killed children and sacrificed them to Milco, hoping to escape the death he presided over. The souls of those dead children wailed pitifully and cried out loud.

米尔寇见到这些无家可归的孤幼灵魂十分不忍。

Milco, seeing these orphaned and homeless souls, felt great sorrow.

他将他们收养在过去界，米尔寇时常拿自己制作的丑恶面具吓唬这些小鬼，那些小鬼被吓哭了，他又得狼狈地挨个去哄。

He took them in and gave them shelter in the Past Realm. Often, Milco would tease them with grotesque masks he had crafted himself, and when they cried in fright, he would clumsily console them one by one.

过去界一片欢声笑语，而现在界的人们呢？

The Past Realm was filled with laughter and joy. But what about the people in the Present Realm?

可怜那些死去幼童的人，无不向上天诉说着死亡的不仁，就连主持这场献祭的王公贵族们也都抹起了眼泪，在世人的瞩目下，默默地闭上眼睛为幼童们悼哀，世人们感慨王公贵族们的仁慈，他们想象着，要是掌握死亡的不是米尔寇，而是贵族国王大人们该有多好啊！

The grieving parents of the sacrificed children lamented death’s cruelty to the heavens. Even the nobles who orchestrated the rituals shed tears, quietly closing their eyes in mourning under the gaze of the people. The commoners marveled at the nobles' supposed compassion, wishing that death could have been wielded by their noble kings instead of Milco.

起初，米尔寇并未在意生灵特别是人类对于他的评价，无论你是赞美他，还是辱骂他，无论你是富贵，还是贫贱，死亡都在那等着你。

At first, Milco did not care about how beings, especially humans, judged him. Whether they praised or cursed him, whether they were rich or poor, death awaited them all.

王公贵族们见到献祭没有效果，以为献祭的还不够多，于是一年献祭的次数一次两次三次的不断往上加，献祭的幼童数量以及品质也越来越高，到了最后甚至连国王的子嗣都被献祭进去。

The nobles, seeing that the sacrifices yielded no effect, assumed it was because they hadn’t offered enough. So, the number of annual sacrifices increased—once, twice, three times a year. The quantity and “quality” of the children sacrificed grew higher, until even the king’s own offspring were included.

米尔寇实在忍不了了，他降下意志让国王贵族们停止幼童的献祭。

Milco could no longer bear it. He descended his will upon the nobles and commanded them to stop sacrificing children.

国王贵族们问米尔寇：“大人，你总得让我们孝敬您啊！”

The nobles asked Milco, “My lord, surely we must show our reverence to you in some way?”

米尔寇就让贵族们每年的四月一日来祭拜，用随处可见的杂草野花来献祭。他许诺，只要国王贵族这样做，他就给予他们长生的特权。

Milco instructed the nobles to offer him tributes of common wildflowers and weeds on April 1st each year. He promised them the privilege of eternal life if they complied.

从此，再也没有幼童因献祭而死去，大家都用野花野草来代替，人们都在为此而欢呼，赞叹上位者的智慧与勇气，

From then on, no child died as a sacrifice. Instead, wildflowers and weeds were used, and people celebrated, praising the wisdom and courage of their rulers.

这一代的国王也被世人们所推崇，把他列为大圣人，他的智慧堪比伊兹帕鲁特，他的勇气与战神葛雷克并肩，他就是这个时代的亚历山大一世。

The king of this era was hailed by the people as a great saint. His wisdom was said to rival that of Izparut, and his courage equaled that of the war god Greck. He became known as the Alexander I of his time.

米尔寇并没有兑现他的承诺，每个人的死亡早早地就写在命运之书上，他没有能力去延缓他人的寿命，之所以给予国王贵族们这样的承诺完全属实无奈。

Milco never fulfilled his promise. Every person’s death was inscribed in the Book of Fate long before their birth, and he had no power to extend their lifespan. His promise to the nobles was a reluctant act of necessity.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

待到国王贵族们死期到临之际，他们发现堂堂的死亡之神竟然如此卑劣地骗取他们的供奉，

When the nobles’ time finally came, they realized that the dignified god of death had deceitfully tricked them into offering tributes.

他们化作孤魂野鬼，在世间到处散布着米尔寇的种种劣迹——喜爱吃幼小的孩童，用欺诈的手段骗取生灵的信仰。

They became wandering ghosts, spreading slander about Milco throughout the world, accusing him of loving to devour children and using deceit to steal the faith of living beings.

命运之神索蒂斯得知这个消息后，召见了这些国王贵族们，

When Sotis, the goddess of fate, heard of this, she summoned these nobles.

她说：“死亡早已刻在命运之书上，就连我也难以更改，我可以许你们来世同等的荣华作为米尔寇无法兑现诺言的补偿，如何？”

She said, “Death is inscribed in the Book of Fate and even I cannot change it. However, I can grant you equal glory in your next life as compensation for Milco’s unfulfilled promise. How does that sound?”

国王贵族们当然是无比的心满意足，他们投胎到人类中最为富贵，权利最为熏天的家庭之中，

The nobles were, of course, overjoyed. They reincarnated into the wealthiest and most powerful families among humanity.

但凡有人问他们凭什么有如此的权力之时，

Whenever someone questioned their entitlement to such power,

他们都会笑着自豪地说：“这都是上天赐予我等的使命呀！懂不懂什么叫君权神授啊？哈哈哈……”

They would smile proudly and say, “This is the mission bestowed upon us by the heavens! Ever heard of divine right? Haha...”

那些从未吃饱过的普通百姓、即将饿死的贫民、就连稍微有些家底的富商都在询问，询问如何让神也授予他们君的权利呀？授予的条件是什么呀之类的。

The common folk who had never eaten their fill, the starving poor, and even some moderately wealthy merchants began to wonder: how could they too gain such divine favor? What were the requirements?

“哈哈，你们就不要想了！像你们这群社会的底层，哪个神明会用正眼瞧你们？你们交过税吗？只怕连起征点都没有到吧，你们又知道我上辈子交了多少吗？为社会做出了多大的贡献吗？恐怕我一个礼拜交的税都够买你们所有人的命了，别再想什么人上人了，好好做你们的牛马吧！”

“Haha, stop dreaming! Do you really think any god would even glance at you bottom-feeders? Have you ever paid taxes? I bet you don’t even qualify for the minimum bracket. Do you even know how much I paid in my last life? The contributions I made to society? My weekly taxes could buy the lives of all of you. Stop dreaming about being one of the elites and get back to being the beasts of burden you were born to be!”

众人听到国王贵族们这番的言谈，最终还是只能长叹一声，只怪自己没用，交的税不够，怨不得他人。

Upon hearing the nobles’ remarks, the people could only sigh deeply, blaming themselves for being inadequate, for not paying enough taxes, and feeling they had no right to complain.

米尔寇一直都在注视着人间，他向索蒂斯询问。

Milco had been observing humanity all along. He turned to Sotis and asked,

“你为什么要帮助这些国王贵族们呢，他们是这般的无耻。”

“Why do you help these nobles? They are so shameless.”

索蒂斯睁开她那美丽动人的紫色眼瞳，幽幽地说道：“神明可以漠视生命，也可以昏庸残暴，因为只要是神总有信仰你的教徒，唯独谎言，它会让你失去所有的教徒，一旦神没有了追随者，那么迎接他的就是真正的死亡。”

Sotis opened her captivating purple eyes and replied softly, “Gods can be indifferent to life or even tyrannical, because as long as there are believers, gods will have power. But lies? Lies can make you lose all your followers. And when a god has no followers, true death awaits them.”

“你差点死了，米尔寇！”索蒂斯带着些微恼怒的说道。

“You almost died, Milco!” Sotis said with a trace of irritation.

“我知道错了亲爱的，可这件事终归到头是不公平的。”

“I know I was wrong, my dear, but this is still unfair,” Milco replied.

“命运本就不公，它只会偏爱那些歌颂命运之人。”

“Fate is inherently unfair. It always favors those who sing its praises,” Sotis responded.

米尔寇见妻子永远是这幅样子，便起身离开，去寻找这世间掌管公平的西弥斯请教。

Seeing his wife’s usual demeanor, Milco got up and left to seek counsel from Simis, the god of fairness.

西弥斯对他说道：“你错啦，这世间就是公道的，公道即为天理，弱者因为强者而死，这不是这世上最天理的事吗？”

Simis said to him, “You are wrong. This world is fair; fairness is the natural order. The weak perish at the hands of the strong—what could be more natural than that?”

米尔寇反驳道：“你不觉得这世上人人平等才是你该做的吗？”

Milco retorted, “Don’t you think it is your duty to make everyone equal in this world?”

西弥斯摇了摇头，“人人平等？假如这世上没有了苦难，世界还能存在吗？要是没有愚蠢，机智还有什么光荣呢？

Simis shook his head. “Equality? If there were no suffering, could the world still exist? Without stupidity, what glory would there be in wisdom?

要是没有了丑陋，漂亮又怎么维系自己的幸运？

Without ugliness, how could beauty sustain its charm?

要是没有了恶劣和卑下，善良与高尚又将如何界定自己？又如何成为美德呢？

Without depravity and baseness, how would kindness and nobility define themselves? How would they become virtues?

要是没有了残疾，健全会否因其司空见惯而变得腻烦和乏味呢？

Without disability, would wholeness become mundane and tiresome because of its ubiquity?

你所构想的平等世界根本就不会存在，你走吧！”

The equal world you imagine simply cannot exist. Go now!”

米尔寇走了，他离开人间，离开现在界，他没有回到属于他的未来界，而是前往那个他以前存放幼童灵魂的过去界。

Milco left. He departed the human realm, left the present dimension, and did not return to his future domain. Instead, he went to the past dimension where he had once stored the souls of orphaned children.

他像轻风一样的回到过去界，许久未见，他审视着这里的一切，

Like a gentle breeze, he returned to the past dimension. It had been a long time, and he gazed upon everything there.

这里从荒芜变为鸟语花香，河流边种满了散发淡蓝色幽光的忘忧草，

The once barren land had transformed into a paradise of chirping birds and fragrant flowers. Along the riverbanks, blue-glowing Forget-Me-Nots thrived.

原本的幼童灵魂在这里也长成一个个健壮美丽的年轻男女，

The souls of the orphaned children had grown into healthy, beautiful young men and women.

他们手拉着手，在这片天地中悠长，悠长地彳亍着。

They walked hand in hand, wandering leisurely through this serene world.

树叶向他们招手，石头向他们微笑，河水向他们问候，

The leaves waved at them, the stones smiled, and the river greeted them.

这里没有贫贱也没有富贵，没有悲伤也没有疼痛，没有仇也没有恨，

Here, there was neither poverty nor wealth, no sorrow nor pain, no hatred nor resentment.

这里人人死而平等，

Here, everyone was equal in death.

这里是什么地方？

What was this place?

就如同书上所述——死无葬身之地。

As the books described—it was the Land of No Burial.