Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1346: Anses

As the ancestor in the crystal coffin slowly opened his eyes, I felt Sandora beside me slightly tremble, and then the laboratory was filled with a peculiar emotion—this emotion was initially confined to the lab, but soon I sensed more, stronger feelings coming from all directions, from every world, from the spiritual network, from the entire Empire, from all the Xyrin Apostles online on the network—only then did I realize that countless Apostles were paying attention to the situation in the lab, and when the ancestor reopened his eyes, the news swept across the millions of universes under the Empire’s rule like a storm, brewing something within the spiritual network, a pure rational thought pattern unable to suppress this surging emotion, as the Xyrin Apostles ushered in the most thrilling moment since their creation.

The ancestor has returned.

"Vital signs are stable, mental state normal, physical condition excellent, confirming the revival of the ancestor," even the voice of the laboratory assistant host seemed tinged with excitement, of course, this must be my illusion. I heard the host reporting one piece of good news after another, each news making Taville and Sandora’s eyes shine brighter, "Spirit scan initiated... confirming the ancestor’s soul is intact, strength steadily increasing."

The crystal container emitted a slight hissing sound, its internal environment balancing with the lab environment to prepare for the opening of the container, while the body that had opened its eyes remained in a dazed state, those deep brown eyes slowly moved from the far left to the far right, then slowly back again—Xyrin People seem to lack pupils, hence I couldn’t tell if he felt discomfort from the lab’s overhead lighting, but Taville nonetheless immediately ordered a reduction in overall illumination. Finally, the ancestor blinked twice intensely, as if awakened from a long dream, his chest suddenly rose high, then slowly relaxed with a heavy breath, afterward, he rigidly raised both hands, seemingly trying to prop himself up. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

With a "bang," he hit the solid cover of the crystal coffin, the Xyrin who had been asleep for so long froze for a bit, starting to pound the surrounding crystal shell vigorously, I guessed he might think he was captured—a normal reaction.

"Prepare to open the container." Sandora immediately said, Taville began quickly checking the balance of the environment inside and outside the container, as she had to ensure the ancestor’s body could adapt to the outside environment, this took a dozen seconds, and the ancestor initially attempted to break the surrounding crystal shell, but he probably soon realized that the strangers around him meant no harm, so he looked at us curiously.

"Sssss..." A pressure release-like sound came from around the sealed chamber, then the lid of the crystal chamber steadily slid aside, and the middle-aged man who had been lying inside suddenly sat up once the lid was completely open, his body as agile as if he had never experienced that long death process: Taville had completely repaired this body, now he was in optimal physiological condition, as long as there were no issues mentally, the recently resurrected ancestor was the healthiest, with no post-hibernation syndrome or anything like that appearing.

The test platform slowly descended to ground level, the newly resurrected ancestor with a somewhat stiff expression walked out of the crystal container, then stood there as if at a loss of what to do next, he blinked, confusedly looking at everything before him: a huge laboratory, unknown mystic equipment, bizarre beams and crystal, busy researchers in white, of whom more than half were identical-looking females, to someone just awakened from a deep sleep, this scene was indeed prone to induce chaos in one’s mind. I thought his memories might still be stuck at the moment of the spaceship’s destruction and emergency escape, the disparity between the final moment back then and the scene before him was so huge that he could not fully recover, you can imagine yourself lying down to sleep in a familiar bedroom, the ceiling seen before closing your eyes was still that of your own home, but when opening them again, the ceiling had turned into the stars of the universe, surrounded by a circle of big-headed alien kids, with a tag hanging on your chest that reads: Earthling specimen, XXXX to XXXX, extinct—this analogy is not quite suitable, but you go along with it, I’m kind of confused too.

"How do you feel?" As the project lead, Taville finally remembered she should be the first to speak, she cautiously approached another step: this action caused the ancestor’s instant vigilance, but he quickly relaxed, he was merely too tense from suddenly coming to an unfamiliar environment from hibernation, after all, he could still see that those around him meant no harm: "I remember the alarm about spaceship control failing... Where am I? Are you a fleet from another universe passing by? Did you save me?"

"Please relax, there’s much to explain," Sandora tried to regain her composure, she asked Taville to withdraw some of her massive projection: after all, the formation looked a bit intimidating, then her gaze fell upon the ancestor, "Your spaceship has been destroyed a long long time ago... so long you might not believe it, therefore what I have to say may exceed your expectations, firstly about your crew..."

"Where is my crew?" The ancestor immediately inquired, his mind gradually becoming active, the situation before the spaceship crash was his first recall, "Where is my spaceship?"

"Your spaceship is not far from here in the Gnaku, but we’ve only found half of its wreckage," Sandora weighed her words, "As for the passengers on the spaceship... they have not yet been resurrected, to put it in terms easier for you to grasp, they are temporarily ’dead’."

The ancestor was suddenly bewildered by this terminology, in his era, they certainly couldn’t talk of resurrection like the Xyrin Apostles do every day, "Resurrection? ’Dead’? What does this mean? Does it mean all my crew have sacrificed, only I am left alone, or do you call the ’deep sleep thawing’ process resurrection?"

I found Sandora speaking too carefully with the ancestor, so I stepped forward casually waving my hand: "Literally, dead then alive again. Actually, you have been dead for a long time, how to put it... even exceeding the longest period a universe can record, but we possess the technology to resurrect life forms, hence you were brought back to life. You are the first to be resurrected, it seems you were the Supreme Commander of the spaceship... but let’s not talk about that. As for our identity..."

Here I got stuck a bit, pondering how to explain this abyssal change to him, later I realized explaining things clearly might take several days at least—I had to start from the establishment of the Old Empire, so finally, I summarized everything into one sentence: "You all created a life form called Xyrin Apostle back then, right? Now countless billions of years—or perhaps even longer have passed, before your eyes is the Xyrin Apostle after this long evolution, you may no longer recognize them, but what I say is entirely true."

The ancestor resurrected across eons instantly became petrified, silently and stiffly stood on the spot, Sandora and Taville along with several senior assistant technicians just approached looked at the ancestor with looks of anticipation and trepidation, hoping he would at least say something, but after a full minute, the ancestor uttered just a murmured sentence: "You’re not joking, are you?"

"Do I look like I’m joking?" I knew it was quite incredulous, so I didn’t rush, just fixed my expression endeavoring to look more trustworthy, "No one would joke about their entire race—by the way, a quick note, my situation is somewhat special, I’m not a Xyrin Apostle, but currently responsible for this place."

"You say it’s been billions of years now?" The ancestor seemed to pay no attention to what I had said, he was still digesting the shock he had just received, "And then you awakened me from a state of death?"

"Billions of years is just a general term, in fact, we completely cannot determine the era of the crash of your spaceship," Taville patiently explained, "A certain unknown force has erased the time record within matter, and our civilization has encountered many setbacks during development, some historical data are not very accurate either, but it is certain that it has been a dreadfully long period of time since you left the hometown world, definitely exceeding the total lifespan of any normal universe."

The muscles on the ancestor’s face twitched, I couldn’t tell whether he wanted to laugh or cry, but his tone seemed tinged with relief: "So you have truly survived, and evolved, become stronger, proliferated to this day, and finally have a stable home... Of course, provided what you say is true. By what you said, I have slept... been dead for billions of years? Then between us, it’s more than just a gap of generations, perhaps the mark we left on the First Generation Original Body has completely disappeared by your generation."

The ancestor’s foresight was evident even if his knowledge couldn’t compare to today’s Xyrin Apostles: in just a moment, he sensed the impact of such a long span of ages, his speculation aligned completely with the reality.

Sandora nodded regretfully: "As you said, besides our own core memories, there is no direct evidence to prove that we are the life forms evolved from the original bodies you created, or rather, we have evidence, but... pardon my frankness, you would not understand, Xyrin Apostles have become a life form in our generation that’s difficult for an ordinary race to comprehend after such long evolution, the characteristics once possessed by the original body have completely vanished in our generation of Xyrin Apostles."

I looked at the ancestor, then at Sandora, suddenly added: "You actually don’t need to doubt—who would bother chasing around identifying ancestors for no reason? This is a very serious matter!"

Sandora silently glanced at me, her meaning clear: with you around, is there anything serious?

So I stayed silent.

"I..." The ancestor was struggling to think. He had too much on his mind, and clearly, he was having trouble processing it all. I could understand: after all, he woke up to find a world that had changed so drastically. It was far more disorienting than waking up to find the human race extinct, with Earth now ruled by a bunch of Meow Star People—except when he woke up, even the world was no longer there. "I need to think slowly... But in any case, seeing your development up to this point, knowing the fire seed of civilization has been preserved, that’s a good thing, a good thing..."

Sandora and I exchanged glances, both feeling a bit troubled: should we tell the ancestor that just recently the Xyrin Apostle nearly faced extinction, and currently, two factions are fighting like there’s no tomorrow? I felt this news might not be very good for the old man’s health...

"Ahem," Sandora lightly coughed twice, giving me a look that suggested we should take our time, then carefully spoke to the still somewhat confused middle-aged man, "Ancestor, we’ll arrange a place for you to rest. The resurrection of others will be completed in the coming days. We have many questions and hope for answers from the ancestors..."

"Ancestor?" The middle-aged man was startled for a moment before realizing this was how he was being addressed. He laughed carelessly and waved his hand vigorously, "That’s not really a name; it sounds more like a title chiseled on a pillar. Call me Anses, that’s my name."

"Anses..." Sandora repeated the name with a somewhat difficult expression, "But to us, you are an ancestor..."

"You shouldn’t be nostalgic about the past. The Xyrin Civilization survived by fighting with its back to the wall, and those who look back are dead," the ancestor, who called himself Anses, waved his hand forcefully, "Actually, you should abandon us along with the past. I’m already long dead; why resurrect me?"

Sandora was speechless, and I didn’t expect the ancestor to be so straightforward. In normal circumstances, one might be wildly happy to know they’ve come back to life after dying, yet the middle-aged man before us felt no joy in his resurrection—in fact, I sensed a hint of despondency. But now, the fact of the ancestor’s resurrection left Sandora with no time for other concerns. She didn’t sense anything amiss, simply arranging for the guards to lead the ancestor to rest.

Oh, we can’t call him ancestor anymore; he has a name, Anses—a rather ordinary name. If one knew nothing of its backstory, just hearing the name without context, no one would connect these three syllables to the creator of the Xyrin Apostle. But that being said, what kind of name could possibly match the over-awing identity of a ’Xyrin Ancestor’?

This brought to mind once more the realization that aside from accomplishing the extraordinary feat of ’creating one of the Void Three Gods’, the ancestor is, after all, just a mortal race...

"Ah Jun, what are you thinking?"

Noticing my fluctuating expression, Sandora leaned in a bit closer. Through the bond of our telepathic connection, I felt the Queen beside me still in turmoil: it’s a historic event for the always composed Sandora to be so agitated for so long. I suddenly felt a sense of impotence: throughout the ancestor’s return, as a half-baked Xyrin Emperor, a ’Void Creature’ whose life form is barely definable, I was an utter outsider. I could only sense Sandora’s feelings, yet I could never experience the cross-time excitement in ways a true Xyrin Apostle would.

"Nothing, just..." I hesitated, considering how to articulate my feelings after meeting the ancestor—my own emotions must be different from those of the Xyrin Apostles, but considering the clarity of an outsider, perhaps these feelings are somewhat more ’calm and objective’, "suddenly speaking directly with the ancestor of the Xyrin Apostle, I found him not as unfathomable as I imagined. What do you think?"

"Expected as much," Sandora smiled, indicating she hadn’t let her excitement cloud her judgment, "In any case, the situation is smoother than anticipated. We must give our thanks to Dingdang—and your usual leisure time. Taville, the subsequent resurrections are in your hands. With this experience, I’m sure it won’t be an issue for you."

Taville nodded with confidence, cradling a small box of Dingdang residue (I suddenly found this name incredibly ridiculous), and looked at me: "Your Majesty, I have just one request. I’m afraid there might not be enough of this powder. Could Dingdang Lord try to..."

I shook my head woodenly: "It’s not something that can be done with effort, okay? The residue she leaves in one day isn’t enough to fill even two ear scoops, and it’s hard to collect them all. I’ve been gathering this powder for four to five months..."

Sandora stared at me, dumbfounded, and after a moment bit her lip: "Ah Jun, as I’ve said once before... just how much free time do you have daily!"

Even though our family members most likely already knew this good news through the spiritual network, Sandora and I still formally announced the ancestor’s return when we got home. It was a momentous event. Even though over half of our family members were generally unreliable, it was still significant enough to invigorate the whole family. My sister decided to celebrate with a nice dinner—which basically summed up the opinion of the previous Fifteen-day Zone Queen on the matter. Qianqian, on the other hand, was somewhat regretful about not being present at the time: this lass would probably want to master the multiple shadow clones technique like Taville, so she could be part of every significant event happening in the world.

Bingdisi was curious about what the ancestor said after being resurrected. In the end, Sandora and I could only tell the truth: apart from learning the ancestor’s name, we pretty much didn’t ask anything else. Anses had just been resurrected, and it was apparent he couldn’t keep up with the pace of thinking, so other than knowing the ancestor is a mild-mannered and straightforward middle-aged man, there wasn’t much more to say.

"In any case, the resurrections of other ancestors are queued in the process." My tone carried lightness and joy. After all, it was one of the few ’nationally celebratory’ good things amidst months of chaos. To make Xyrin Apostles feel ’nationally celebratory,’ theoretically, only the complete annihilation of the Abyss Side Force or the resurrection of ancestors and return to their hometown could achieve it.

At this moment, Dingdang lazily floated over and casually perched atop my head. Little One, acting like a seasoned general on the field, exuded grand vision and I recalled this was indeed the big contributor. I quickly took the Little Thing down and cradled it in my palm, solemnly introducing it to everyone: "The success of the first resurrection experiment is owed to Dingdang’s contribution..."

Everyone: "?"

I thought it was time to introduce everyone to the divine medicine, Dingdang residue, which clears heat and relieves cough... (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)