Chapter 734

Chapter 734: Farewell to The Creator

Duncan’s answer kept that dark red core silent for a long time.

After an unknown time, Shirley and Alice finally heard a low hum from deep within the distant “black mountain range”. As the massive body at the center of the range slowly shifted and writhed, the dark red core of the Abyssal Lord rose bit by bit. It returned to its original place, to the height from which it overlooked the land.

“A Sanctuary World can at least let many people survive, perhaps for several thousand years, perhaps for ten thousand years… Even if it is not eternal, it is better than turning to dust,” the dark red core pulsed faintly, its deep trembling voice echoing across the wasteland. “My Creators told me that survival is the first task, and I have always carried out their orders. In my logic, nothing is more important than keeping the Sanctuary World going.”

“Survival is indeed very important. I understand why you want to keep the Sanctuary World running. But for me… ‘possibility’ is just as necessary. And this ‘Sanctuary World’, as it is now, really does not have enough possibility for me to see a future in it. It…”

Duncan suddenly fell silent. In that silence, his gaze swept over Dog at his side and Shirley, who still kept the form of a Abyssal demon.

The great fire of Pland, the mud of Frostholm, the nightmare of Lightwind Harbor, the priests, soldiers, and commoners who died, the fallen and the martyrs, the limited Boundless Sea, and every explorer who was trapped to death in this Boundless Sea…

Duncan slowly closed his eyes. Memories rose and tangled in his mind, then finally turned into a sigh: “…It’s too dark.”

The dark red core that overlooked the land spoke quietly: “Then do you have a better plan?”

“No. But I have some vague ideas.” Duncan opened his eyes and calmly met the core’s gaze, as if staring into a giant eye worn down by ages. “I more or less know what I should do and what I can do. But I haven’t found a correct and workable way yet. I’m still searching – for a future better than this ‘Sanctuary World’, a future with more possibility, a future worth looking forward to.”

“…Is it eternal?” the dark red core asked, still calm.

“No. Nothing in this world is truly eternal. All things decay. But at least it shouldn’t be a sea shrouded in fog, short of resources, where you can hardly find a place to stand. That so-called ‘eternal Veil’ at the border… it is far too narrow for civilization.”

“You should know we don’t have much time. Neither you nor I, nor this ‘Sanctuary World’, have time to waste,” the dark red core said, its light slowly brightening and dimming. “How long will you take to find that way out? And what if, in the end, you still haven’t found it?”

Duncan was silent for a moment, then lifted his head and calmly met the gaze of the Abyssal Lord.

“…Before the world collapses, I will come back here. If by then I still haven’t found another way out, I will take over all of this.”

After a brief silence, the ancient Navigation Mainframe let out a low tremor. “Recorded. Then this is our pact. If, in the end, you still cannot find a plan better than prolonging the Sanctuary World, come back here and ignite me. And if I have already entered a full runaway state before that… show no mercy. Burn me until nothing is left.”

Duncan nodded slowly. “We have a deal.”

After that, the Abyssal Lord grew quiet again. Its core hung high above the peak. The faint light within it flickered at a rhythm that slowly matched the lights scattered along the surrounding mountains, as if it was engaged in a long and deep thought, recalculating the future and everything in this world.

Duncan did not disturb this ancient Navigation Mainframe. Time passed, who knew how long, before that deep trembling voice suddenly sounded again: “Navigator Three.”

Alice did not move. She did not realize it was calling her until Duncan suddenly tapped her arm. Only then did the doll jerk in surprise. “Ah… huh? Me?”

“…It seems you have completely forgotten the New Hope, haven’t you?”

Alice listened, then raised a hand to scratch her hair. Her face looked a bit awkward and guilty. “Uh… sorry, I really don’t remember… Was I supposed to remember at least something?”

“No, this is good. It is not what I planned at first, but you are still alive. Survival comes above all. Please keep on living, and do everything you can to help the Flame Usurper.”

Alice thought for a second, then took a moment to do the math in her head. She nodded half a beat late. “Oh… mm-hmm! Of course, I’ll definitely help the captain!”

Beside them, Shirley tilted her head back. She and Dog gazed up together at that awe-inspiring ancient Creator, so grand it could drive every great explorer and scholar in the world mad in both body and mind.

They could tell the time to say farewell had come. They suddenly felt they also had questions they wanted to ask, yet they could not think of a single thing to say.

But the “gaze” of that dark red core already seemed to fall upon them.

It was a feeling hard to describe. The faint light inside the dark red core only pulsed as usual, yet Shirley felt, by pure instinct, that the other side was now turning its gaze upon her.

A strange sense of being completely seen through rose in her heart. She stepped back half a step without thinking. Then she heard that deep trembling voice again. This time it sounded a little gentler.

“This world has brought you a great deal of suffering,” that gentle voice said slowly. “Do you… also think this Sanctuary World is awful?”

Shirley opened her mouth. She did not know how to answer that. She thought that someone more learned, quicker, and wiser should be standing here now.

Someone like Old Mr. Morris, that Grand Scholar. As the first “mortal” to stand face to face with the Abyssal Lord, the one answering now should have been someone far more capable than her.

Not someone as ignorant and uneducated as she was.

But that Elder God still waited quietly for her answer.

“…I…” Shirley finally squeezed out a sound from her throat. The bone limbs behind her shifted uneasily, and the wisp of light in her chest flickered faintly. “I don’t know either… I didn’t really understand what you and the captain were talking about…”

She muttered, then hesitated for a long time before whispering, “It is hard to stay alive. Sometimes you worry about food. Sometimes it is winter clothes and fuel. Where I used to live, the nights were not very safe either… But I think no matter what happens, there will always be some people who live in hardship. Even if the city-states become ten times bigger and there is more than enough food, life will still be hard in other ways.

“My old neighbor used to say this all the time. Life always has bitter parts. It’s not the world’s fault, and it’s not because someone did something wrong. Compared to that, what the captain cares about is more…”

She turned her head a little and stole a look at Duncan, then quickly pulled her gaze back.

“The captain cares about things that are more… ‘profound’. I don’t really understand them, but I think what he says must be right, and it must be better for many more people. As for me, I don’t have many demands for the future. I just hope… I can live safely and steadily. Of course, if it is possible…”

She stopped suddenly, as if she was choosing her words very carefully. After a long hesitation, she spoke in a small voice, “I hope there won’t be any more demons running out to hurt people. I hope no more people vanish in the corners. I hope the Sun rises and sets every day, and the thick fog doesn’t eat people… That would be even better. If all that could really come true, then anything is fine.”

Dog slowly leaned closer and rubbed his bony, fearsome head softly against Shirley’s leg.

The dark red core hanging high above was silent for a long time. Then it finally broke the silence in a soft voice. “I understand.”

With a series of low rumbles, the center of the huge star-shaped mountain range slowly split open. The dark red core of the Abyssal Lord began to sink back into the depths of the mountain, bit by bit.

Duncan knew the time to say goodbye had come.

But before the core vanished completely into the “mountain”, he suddenly took a step forward. “One more thing.”

The core stopped and waited for him.

“The guard of the last Critt outpost asked me to bring you a greeting,” Duncan said as he took another step forward. His expression grew solemn, and his tone became very serious. “He said… they were honored to have completed their work.”

The dark red core stayed still. For a few seconds, there was no sound at all. No one knew what this ancient Navigation Mainframe was thinking or calculating at that moment.

Maybe it had searched its vast database and found the meaning of the distant word “Critt”. Maybe it was recalling information from the Dawn of Creation. Maybe… it was just a silent sigh.

Or perhaps, the Creator who had made all things and the Critt clan also thought of Its own Creators at that moment.

“I was also honored… to have worked with them.”

The dark red core slowly sank into the depths of the mountain range.

Duncan drew back his gaze from the “mountain”. He took a light breath. Layers of illusory flames began to rise and ripple around him. “We should go. There is still much to do.”

Alice walked to the captain’s side and stepped forward to meet the encircling flames. Shirley moved her long bone limbs and stepped into the fire with Dog.

The flames rose. In Alice’s pale violet eyes, countless tangled paths appeared, as she began to search for the correct route out of the depths of the Abyssal Deep.

Shirley still stared, dazed, at the distant peak, at the place where the dark red core had vanished. For some reason, she kept feeling… that a gaze still rested on her from there.

Only when the flames closed around them, and the light and shadow outside the fire grew vague and hazy, did she suddenly hear a faint whisper. The voice seemed to echo directly in her mind. It repeated a few times before she finally heard the words clearly –

“…I am sorry. I did my best back then…”

The flames shot upward, then vanished in an instant into the vast gloom of the Deep Sea of the Abyssal Deep.