Chapter 750

Chapter 750: Future of Fire.

When the world was close to the End, cause and effect also slowly fell into chaos. It was not that the last clear-headed Ender walked up to Duncan. Instead, in Duncan’s sight, a Ender who would be the last to stay sane “appeared.”

But to the two people involved, it did not seem important which of these was cause and which was effect.

“What is your name?” Duncan looked at the old man in the white robe in front of him and suddenly felt a bit curious.

Faced with such a simple question, the traveler in the worn white robe frowned deeply. He thought for quite a while, then lightly shook his head and said: “I do not really remember. The last time I used a ‘name’ seems to have been a long time ago… but if you are willing, you can call me Critt.”

“Critt?” Duncan frowned. “That is the name of your people.”

“Oh, right. No wonder it sounded so familiar.” The old man showed a look of sudden understanding, and a faint smile appeared on his face. “That is fine. Call me that. I like this name.”

Duncan stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded lightly: “All right, Critt. I have a few questions.”

“Please ask. I have a lot of time this trip.”

“The first question. Why did you choose to meet me at this time?” Duncan looked into the old man’s eyes. His tone was very serious. “What is the purpose of this Window Interval?”

“We have actually been looking for a chance to make direct contact with you. By ‘we’ I mean those of us who are still sane.” When Critt answered this question, there was a barely noticeable moment of hesitation, but he still gave an answer quickly. “However, contacting you is a very hard thing. In fact, before today we tried once already. It was just that… we missed that Window Interval.”

“You missed a window?” Duncan looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“We came too early, Captain.” Critt spoke in a calm voice.

Duncan froze for a moment. After a very brief thought, he suddenly understood what Critt meant: “You mean those three who appeared on the Vanished back then…”

“Yes, we came too early.” Critt nodded slightly and repeated those few words. “When we found that it was not the year 1900, the Window Interval had already ended. That was the biggest ‘linear runaway state incident’ we had met since we set out. From that day on, many things started to slip out of control. But in the end… it seems everything still stayed on its set track. Duncan Abnomar still set out on his last voyage, even after learning his ending ahead of time.”

Just from these few short sentences, a storm of thoughts rose in Duncan’s mind.

The Enders, or the so-called End Survey Team, knew the truth about him as the bearer of the Flame Usurper. They knew he was an outside soul that had taken over Duncan Abnomar’s body. Duncan had already guessed this part long ago. But the other part of the truth was completely beyond his expectations.

In the memories of Tyrian and Lucretia, those “uninvited guests” who had suddenly appeared on the Vanished back then, those Enders who had talked deep into the night with Duncan Abnomar… they had actually come looking for him?

Duncan quickly sorted out the information in Critt’s words and slowly reacted: “So you originally did not plan to contact… ‘him’?”

“Yes. We revealed his ending ahead of time to one who was about to go to the dead.” Critt nodded slowly. “I know what you want to say, but the truth is, when we appeared on that ship, he already seemed to know some things. As a great explorer, he already had some sense of his fate. Our appearance only surprised him for a few seconds. After that, until the Window Interval ended, he only asked us some questions about how to sail in the border seas.”

A slight tremor and creaking sound reached Duncan’s ears. A low and uneasy noise echoed from the depths of the Vanished’s cabins. But after a few seconds, these strange sounds slowly faded.

Critt looked up at the dark roof above. Only after the surroundings became quiet again did he turn his gaze back to Duncan.

“After we missed that Window Interval, our only remaining chance to contact you was today. Or rather, only when the stability of the Sanctuary World dropped to its limit could beings like us, who go against order, safely enter your sight. And it is also because the stability of the Sanctuary World has dropped to the limit that we now have a chance to show you… a few things. This will help you understand the fate of this world, the fate that is ‘fixed’ so far.”

“Show me a few things?” Duncan’s expression became serious at once when he heard this. “What do you mean? What are you going to show me?”

“Before that, I want to confirm one thing.” Critt raised his head and stared at Duncan. “You have already turned down our Creator, have you not?”

“Your Creator… you mean Navigator One?” Duncan understood and then nodded. “Yes. He wanted me to take over his divine authority and take over this world. But I refused.”

“I see. That is good.” Hearing Duncan’s answer, Critt spoke as if talking to himself.

Duncan became a bit curious: “What does that have to do with what you are going to show me?”

Critt did not answer directly. Instead, he walked forward until he stood before the door that led to Subspace, which was tightly shut at this moment.

“Have you opened this door?”

“No.” Duncan walked over, and his voice turned wary at once. “This door leads to Subspace. Opening it in the Mortal Realm is not a good idea.”

“It is all right. There is no need to be nervous. I will not open it, and I do not have the power to open it.” Critt noticed the change in Duncan’s tone. A faint smile appeared on his face. “I am only bringing you to take a look.”

Duncan watched Critt’s movements and spoke in a careful tone: “Take a look?”

“Subspace reflects everything. As long as it is a possibility of this Sanctuary World, its answer has already been branded in that endless sea of chaos. And we…”

Critt muttered softly, then suddenly reached out and patted the doorframe twice.

“…we have always been good at fishing flickers from the long river of time out of that chaos.”

In the next second, under Duncan’s slightly surprised gaze, the big door suddenly shattered with a roar like an illusion. Lights beyond the limits of human understanding rushed at him like a storm and then, in a blink, re-formed around him.

Duncan almost struck out, but at the last possible moment he held back that impulse and instead chose to stand still and stay calm.

He felt no threat or hostility at all. He could even clearly feel that the door still stood intact in its place. Critt’s presence was also close by, with no change.

He looked around and found himself standing on a dark mountain peak. A dim and muddy sky hung over everything. A patch of dull light hid deep in the clouds. Below the mountain stretched a vast plain. In that boundless land, he could faintly see ruins like cities and also high aqueducts that had dried up and broken.

Other than that, there was only cracked, dried earth. A fine “gray” covered everything within sight, filled the ruins and channels, and rose with the wind in the valleys, blowing toward the plains like a drifting mist.

A biting cold filled the world, as if even the ashes thrown up by the wind were about to freeze.

Duncan quietly watched all of this. After a long time, he spoke in a low voice: “What is this?”

“This is the Age of Fire, Captain.” Critt’s voice came from the side. At some unknown time he had already appeared there. He still wore the same tattered white robe, but the robe now seemed even more ragged.

After a brief silence, Duncan asked again: “Is this some kind of History Branch?”

“This is the only History Branch under which the Sanctuary World continued to exist.” Critt spoke.

The “Ender” then paused, as if choosing his words, and went on:

“At the start, you reshaped the earth. All the grand plans on the Blueprint that had never been carried out appeared in the mortal world. Lands that humans had never imagined rose from the sea. City-states became linked. Resources became abundant. After that, you calmed the sea. You made more life grow in the sea, and you had the seawater purified among the mountains so it turned into rain and snow that fell upon the land.

“Then the world began to prosper. For a time, this New World grew even more lush than all the poems that praised beauty in the era of the Deep Sea. Strong nations rose upon the earth and grew day and night. New technologies were discovered. New poetry, literature, and dreams of the future appeared. Steam trains crossed forests and wild plains. Huge pipeline systems linked factories and the steel jungles of the cities.

“Countless stories, countless lives. Heroes and leaders, knights and philosophers, legendary adventurers, and ordinary people who worked hard in the cities.

“Captain, trust me. If I did not show you this moment, but instead showed you those glorious days, even you would feel a bit shaken. Even the strongest-willed governor and guardian in this world would be willing to trade everything for that world, even if its glory lasted… a very short time.”

Duncan did not speak. He stood on the mountain top and quietly looked down at the dry, broken land at his feet. After a long time, he broke the silence: “Were there still living people at this moment?”

“No. The ashes have swallowed everything. Do you see that city ruin? The tallest Cathedral at the center of the city… the last refugees died there. Now there is only an empty soul wandering inside that Cathedral. She holds a greatsword in her hand, but at this moment that sword cannot protect anyone.”

Duncan raised his head again and looked at that patch of dim light in the sky: “And what is that?”

“A very small Sun. When the world began to cool, she tried to heat this land again and held on for a very long time.”

“And my flame?”

“It went out, Captain,” Critt said slowly. “After you burned everything in the world that could burn.”