Although Kong Tai is still unclear about his body and the source of his abilities, he knows they couldn't have appeared out of thin air.
He previously speculated that his body had mutated after being scoured by the River of Time during his crossings between worlds.
However, thinking back, that seemed a bit too simplistic.
"You said creation," Kong Tai raised his head, gazing at the flower, and asked doubtfully, "Does that mean beings like yourselves were created by something?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Mmm!" The flower nodded and continued, "In my era, there were many beings like me; we permeated the entire star sea.
From the moment I gained sentience, a pair of eyes existed in my mind. Though I don't know who They are or why They appeared, as if They had always been there, from my inherited memories, I know that is our great Father God."
"Eyes, Father God?"
Hearing this, others felt nothing, but Kong Tai was different. He had once seen an eye, an eye so vast it surpassed his comprehension, whose mere unconscious aura could freeze time and make him tremble.
He didn't know if the eye he saw was the same one the flower spoke of, but even if not, the owner of the eye he saw should be no less formidable than the creator god the flower mentioned!
"Ah," as if remembering something, Kong Tai waved his hand in front of him. The previously transparent void gradually gained color, the colors coalescing into a painting.
A painting that sent shockwaves through everyone's hearts.
"See if the eye you mentioned is this one."
The flower remained silent, but its being underwent violent emotional fluctuations, like ripples on a calm lake from a dropped stone. Kong Tai, the other two in the temple, and Ah Hua and the others outside all felt it.
Within this emotion were confusion, bewilderment, but most of all, excitement, reverence, respect, and faith.
Seeing the flower's strong reaction, Kong Tai knew the owner of the eye he had seen was likely the creator god of this world.
The world here wasn't just the planet of One Piece, but the entire star sea, this universe.
"Truly, truly..."
At this moment, Kong Tai was speechless.
He hadn't expected his full spatial collapse energy to tear through space and inadvertently stumble into the lair of the biggest boss in this universe.
Thinking back now, his thoughts at the time seemed somewhat amusing.
In the face of such an existence, space held no meaning. For Them, perhaps only time was worthy of consideration!
After a long while, the flower recovered. Although it had no eyes, Kong Tai felt it was looking at him.
"How did you see the Father God? I can sense an aura in the painting you constructed that differs from the images in my inherited memories. That sense of reality couldn't be constructed without seeing it with one's own eyes."
"Kong Tai~"
Just then, Kuina's soft hand suddenly gripped Kong Tai's tightly.
Kong Tai hadn't told Ah Hua and the others about the eye, but he hadn't hidden it from Kuina.
Thinking of how casually Kong Tai had confided in her about this eye, Kuina couldn't help but feel a surge of worry. After all, the owner of that eye was a creator god!
Even though she had never seen a god, it didn't stop her from imagining how powerful a being capable of creating gods and shaping worlds would be.
This was beyond her comprehension.
"It's okay," sensing Kuina's worry, Kong Tai looked down and smiled at her gently, then reached out and ruffled her hair.
"That kind of existence has lived for an immeasurable age. Even if They occasionally cast Their gaze upon our world, it's merely to observe the history and growth of this world to pass the time. For Them, a nap could span the entire cycle of a star sea's birth and death."
"Therefore, They couldn't possibly pay attention to anyone in this world. After all, in Their eyes, humans, animals, worlds, even everything visible to our sight outside, including the star sea, are all indistinguishable."
"Indeed, indistinguishable."
Just then, the flower spoke, affirming Kong Tai's words. It continued, "The greatness of the Father God surpasses our understanding. After all, this world, this star sea, this universe, might all be Their creation. With Their perspective, They wouldn't possibly cast Their gaze upon this star sea."
"Because there are no longer gods here."
"Gods?"
Kong Tai stared at the flower, asking the question he had wanted to ask from the beginning but had never voiced, "Are you a god?"
"Mmm!" The flower swayed, its voice crisp and direct, "I am a god."
The flower's words pulled everyone back from the illusion of the creator god and grounded them in reality.
No one had ever seen a creator god. Even with the painting Kong Tai had constructed, it was still merely an image from Kong Tai's mind, and they couldn't truly feel the greatness of the eye's owner, thus leaving no room for imagination.
But the present was different. They had initially suspected this flower, but its active acknowledgment now was far more shocking.
This was a "god"!
Not a false god, but an ancient deity that appeared before everyone, to whom people prayed and offered worship.
"Can you tell me about your current realm?"
Kong Tai had always wanted to know if, without things like Devil Fruits that rapidly increase strength, the peak of humans in this world would be like Garp and Roger.
This would be the bottleneck he would break in the future. Although his body naturally grew and would eventually surpass the peak of this world with time, Kuina and the others wouldn't.
"Realm?" The flower sounded puzzled, "What is realm?"
"It's the level of strength."
"Level?" The flower pondered.
Realms were meaningless before Them. They were born this way, existing at the apex of a world from the start.
After thinking for a while, the flower finally spoke, "I don't know what realm is, but if you speak of strength, I can tell you about it."
"Our birth is inherently as it is. Our strength is from the beginning the apex of a world, a peak that all beings in this world can only approach, never surpass, no matter how hard they try. Because it's not something attainable through effort and desperation, but rather a fundamental difference in life origin from the outset."
"A difference in origin?"
Kong Tai stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Mmm, a difference in origin. It's like a planet and the life on that planet. Beings like us are the planets. The life on this planet, without the power to break the shackles of its own life, can never surpass the planet itself."