Light Fortress-Chapter 1578 - 266: Ku Bones, Throne, Extinguished Fire (Part 3)
Behind the bronze hall’s door lay a throne pierced by a sharp long sword.
The throne was vast and immensely wide, resembling a small mountain.
On this throne, which could easily accommodate a giant, indeed sat a withered shell...
Weathered by time and the erosion of ages.
The shell had been reduced to mere skeletal remains.
The long sword penetrated from the top of the skull, slicing through the chest cavity, and embedded into the throne.
The scene was so striking that Gu Shen and Gu Xiaoman, who had just pushed the door open, stood frozen in place.
Their eyes were drawn to the skeleton on the throne.
Because hovering at the heart of those bones was a golden, crystal-like [spark], which, even though pierced by the sword, still emitted dazzling and brilliant golden light.
The bronze hall slowly closed.
The shimmering brilliance emanating from the golden crystal was also blocked from the world by the bronze door.
The hall became empty and very quiet.
"Is this... a spark?!"
Gu Shen couldn’t believe the scene before his eyes; he wanted to step forward to examine it when a square block floated over at that moment.
"If a wilted flower can still be considered a flower, then this extinguished fire... might barely be considered a spark."
Alf’s voice emerged from the cube: "Gentlemen, this is the ’answer’ I spoke of. If you have any questions, you may ask them now."
Gu Shen and Gu Xiaoman exchanged glances.
Their emotions were complex, and their thoughts were also somewhat complicated.
Because there were simply too many questions!
Since meeting Alf and uncovering the veil of the [Ice Sea Ruins], within a short span of a few minutes, they had received too much information that overturned their understanding.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Gu Xiaoman was the first to speak: "Is this really a spark? Does it belong to the owner of the ’Initial’?"
"It is indeed a spark, but it does not belong to my master."
Alf softly replied: "As you can see, this spark is now extinguished... But if it can reignite one day, it might be able to exert its previous power."
"Even a spark can go out?"
"Of course."
Alf said in a low voice: "In the world, everything that is born will eventually perish... Even a spark is not an exception. It can burn, so it can extinguish. However, this spark’s ’extinguishment’ was not due to natural aging but was caused by human intervention."
Upon mentioning this, there seemed to be a trace of pride in its voice.
"It was the master who extinguished it."
Another shocking piece of news.
Gu Shen rubbed his temples and said: "What happened back then regarding this throne, this spark, and this sword? Just tell us directly... we won’t ask."
"Due to a malfunction in my ’timing system,’ I am also unsure how many years ago this occurred. In any case, this is a story from long ago."
Alf’s spirit manipulated the square cube, gently floating within the bronze hall.
"My master’s entire life was dedicated to crafting a weapon that could shatter ’chaos.’"
"What you see as the Initial... was one of my master’s attempts, but unfortunately, this attempt failed."
Alf’s voice carried a sense of regret, as well as a touch of loftiness: "Although many called it a ’starship,’ in reality, it was just a nice name... It was born here and submerged here. Through the long ages, it never moved an inch. Rather than a large ship, it was more like a prison. Those who entered the Initial never managed to journey afar... it was merely a failed creation."
Gu Shen and Gu Xiaoman’s expressions changed.
The two looked at each other.
They never thought the history of this large ship would be like this.
The Initial was named a "starship," which showed the immense ambition of Alf’s master, but unfortunately, the creation failed. This large ship could not move and could only remain here... everything here was a failure, and in a sense, Alf was also a failure.
Suddenly, Gu Shen understood where the sorrow in Alf’s voice came from.
It felt a deep pride for its master in its heart.
But it also felt sorry for its fate.
"Many creation experiments were conducted on the ’Initial.’ I witnessed my master creating history time and time again. He was a monumental figure in every sense."
When speaking of its master, the sadness on Alf’s face vanished.
The voice resonating from the cube was powerful and strong.
"Although the Initial failed, my master eventually succeeded in creating a ’starship.’ It was a colossal object that could navigate across the Skytop, gliding between the clouds like a giant whale swimming underwater, effortlessly. I have seen the images sent back by the ’starship’... When chaos descended, my master led his people onto the ’starship.’ They journeyed towards an unreachable place to search for the legendary ’oasis.’
The word oasis left Gu Shen stunned.
This story seemed familiar to him...
It was just that it belonged to ancient humans. Six hundred years ago, ancient humans traveled southward in search of an oasis and eventually discovered the Five Continents.
But Alf’s master?
And this starship they created?
Suddenly, Gu Shen thought of a very outrageous possibility...
Could Alf’s master be the ancient humans who fled from the Source Material Storm six hundred years ago, or even earlier? The history of human migration had already begun. Yet, history was fragmented, and nobody knew what life was like before landing on the Five Continents.
After history fragmented.
Even the highest seats had limited information.
All they knew was... Six hundred years ago, life was dark, and everyone hid in the nutrient pods of ships, desperately fleeing.
In that extremely chaotic era, there was no direction to speak of.
Darkness surrounded everything.
The refuge starship of human civilization, driven by an unyielding belief, desperately advanced in one direction, eventually reaching the Five Continents and surviving.
But if there is an end to this world, and it can connect into a circle.
Then everything makes sense.
This [Ice Sea Ruins] is simply not a home created by any other civilization.
From the very beginning, this was humanity’s own homeland, and it was their original home. During countless years of escape, this home was abandoned, with other structures destroyed and eroded beyond any trace.
Yet, the Initial Number, a failed creation, survived the disaster due to its incredibly resilient protective mechanisms and was submerged in the Ice Sea.
The Initial Number couldn’t start and could only keep sinking, further and further.
Waiting for the tides to rise and fall.
Countless years later, the sea level dropped.
The [Ice Sea Ruins] reemerged in the human realm...
"And then what?"
Gu Xiaoman’s voice broke the silence of the bronze hall.
The little one stared at the cube, seriously asking, "Your master left home with your people... what happened next?"
"I... don’t know."
Alf’s voice was very downcast, with a touch of self-mockery, "After they left, the link on my side was disconnected."
The small cube rotated, turning its red-glowing side towards Gu Shen.
This side could be considered the front with the eyes.
Alf softly said, "So when you asked me earlier if I was the only ’person’ in this hall for all these years... if I count as ’person,’ then yes, I was."
"I collected blood samples from those Extraordinary Lives who entered the Initial Number."
"Your blood differs somewhat from human blood from many years ago, but the gene sequences are largely similar; there is only regional isolation, not reproductive isolation... from this I can deduce that you are the ’spark’ left from the civilization’s migration back then; the master’s plan must have succeeded, if it allowed me to reunite with you."
Gu Shen’s expression was complex; Alf’s words also confirmed his earlier suspicions.
The current Five Continents Civilization and the ancient civilization of the Initial Number belonged to the same lineage.
The master of the Initial Number, by descent, would be his ancestor.
"And what about this spark?"
Gu Shen pointed to the throne deep within the hall.
"This... is precisely what I want to focus on next."
Alf paused, then said, "The master conducted many experiments back then. I witnessed firsthand as he created incredible ’Divine Miracle objects,’ giant vessels able to withstand Source Material Storms, a divine bow that could pierce the Black Silver Mountain... but most astonishing of all was the Sword of Concept rumored to extinguish the ’Authority Fire’."
"???"
Gu Shen’s expression was subtle.
Wait, how come the first two sound a bit familiar?
The giant vessel that can withstand storms, is it referring to the Initial Number?
And the divine bow that can pierce the Black Silver Mountain, could it be [Extinguishing Candle]?
Gu Xiaoman mercilessly exposed, "Hey, hey... was the first one talking about yourself?"
"Aha."
Alf laughed happily, "...Indeed."
Although there’s a hint of self-promotion, one has to admit that the Initial Number remaining intact from the ancient civilization to now is indeed a miracle.
"The Sword of Concept that can extinguish the ’Authority Fire’..."
Gu Shen looked towards the throne and seriously asked, "Is this the one?"
Unfortunately, his "Netherfire Authority" was already nearly exhausted.
Even if it wasn’t, he wasn’t prepared to use his "authority" for an experiment.
"Certainly... not."
Alf said disdainfully, "How could the master leave something so important on the Initial Number?"
Thud!
Gu Xiaoman lightly hopped and took down the small cube, knocking it with some irritation.
"Stop beating around the bush."
Although Alf wouldn’t feel pain, it still cooperatively yelped.
"The one seated on this throne was a ’leader’ from those times, nearing the end of her days; she had a deep connection with the master..."
Alf’s voice was very soft, "To fight against chaos, we had no good solutions. The more we used Extraordinary Abilities, the more we invited chaos to descend. In the entire homeland, only those leaders who shared the ’Gospel Box power’ could resist."
Leader—
In the ancient civilization, this was the Master of the Spark, and now the Divine Throne!
"In the face of this catastrophic civilization-ending disaster, individual strength was trivial."
"Most leaders were helpless; they could only pin their hopes on the master. If there was a truly capable ’Starship’ to navigate the Skytop, if a weapon could be made to annihilate ’chaos’... then perhaps the end could be rewritten."
"Under this premise."
"The master began to burn the power of the Gospel Box, forcefully drawing fate, creating..."
Alf gazed at the withered shell on the throne, murmuring, "The Lord of Love burned the remaining power of the Gospel Box shards to provide the master with the final enlightenment, which is what you see now. The Fire Extinguishing Sword, throne, withered bones, including the spark, are all illusions; no one can approach this throne."
"The spark has been extinguished, the Dream shattered; any mortal attempting to touch this extinguished flame would be lost in a mirage, depleting their Spirit, and forever sink."
...
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(PS: Thanks to the "Eternal as Before" Silver Alliance for the reward! There will be a five-update explosion today! This is the third update!)
