Chapter 820: Chapter 819: Considering the Future

As the sun rises, a story spanning fifteen hundred and twenty-three years comes to an end. At the end of the story, the gods did not descend upon the real world; fragile and small human beings once again survived the disaster—many people’s stories continued to unfold.

Semyer gripped his combat staff tightly, standing in the center of the hall for a long time, surrounded by countless priests and knights holding their breath, faces full of fatigue. The intelligence from the surface had just been delivered to this Archbishop, but he still dared not confirm the final result due to the strange phenomenon that seemed to confuse dreams and reality. He and everyone else held a tense and uneasy mood, waiting quietly.

In this brief moment of dawn spreading across the Orlandeau region, the priests seemed to have waited for a century.

Then, scattered starlight finally appeared in everyone’s vision, floating above the hall.

Semyer heard an old and weary voice enter his mind: "It’s all over... Fellow citizens, we are safe."

It was the voice of Megal III.

After a brief silence, delayed cheers suddenly resounded throughout the hall!

"We did it!! We stopped a god!" "The Wanderer from Outer Realm and Archbishop Selena succeeded!" "We survived, we survived!!"

Amidst the tide of cheers, Wendy, who was tending to the wounded, slowly straightened up, feeling the pollution in her spirit fading away. She felt her soul finally truly restored to freedom. She raised her head and saw Yuri looking at her from not far away.

"We succeeded..." Wendy slowly lifted the corners of her mouth, saying with heartfelt laughter.

Yuri showed a complex smile, gently taking a breath, murmuring as if speaking to himself: "...At last, we didn’t destroy this world."

A stream of light suddenly appeared in the center of the hall. As the light gathered, a lantern materialized within everyone’s sight, followed by the appearance of a female figure holding the lantern.

"Archbishop Selena," Semyer immediately approached this figure, "You saved the entire church again..."

The halo around Selena gradually dissipated. Of course, she was only a projection reflected in the awareness of those around her here. Confronted with Archbishop Semyer, the Saintess of the Lantern gently shook her head: "This time, I wasn’t the one who saved the church."

"Ah, the Wanderer from Outer Realm..." Semyer reacted immediately, "Where is he now?"

"The Wanderer has temporarily returned. He merely descended a projection into our mental network. He will contact us again soon," Selena said softly, her gaze slowly sweeping across the entire hall, encompassing the cheering priests, the tired yet excited knights, and the attendants who survived calamity. Finally, she lowered her eyelids, "Thanks to your efforts in the real world, we could achieve this final success."

Semyer looked at Selena curiously, noticing the complex expression on the Archbishop’s face. Her emotions seemed not as relaxed and excited as everyone else, puzzling him greatly. "Archbishop Selena, you seem to be... preoccupied?"

Selena thought of that figure chasing starlight under the night, remembered the hardest question she ever answered in her life. She was silent for a long time before finally shaking her head: "I’m fine, just suddenly feeling a bit puzzled."

"Puzzled?"

"Archbishop Semyer, what do you think is the greatest instinct of a civilization?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Instinct?" Semyer faced this somewhat odd question, contemplating before speaking with uncertainty, "Is it to continue its existence?"

"And beyond continuing its existence?" Selena asked again, "Beyond surviving..."

"I...don’t know," Semyer shook his head, "In my view, just continuing our existence in this world is already challenging enough."

"Indeed," Selena paused for a second, then suddenly smiled and shook her head with relief, "Besides, that’s not your area of expertise."

Semyer inferred from Selena’s response that this "Saintess" must have experienced something during her confrontation with the Supreme Narrator, which suddenly revealed her sentimental state. But now was clearly not the time to pursue these details. Amidst the surrounding atmosphere of vibrant celebration, he had already calmed down first and opened his mouth to ask: "Archbishop Selena, now that the threat of ’God descent’ has been quelled, should we consider the church’s future?"

"Absolutely," Selena nodded, also containing her emotions, "Although the situation is invigorating, I’m afraid the time left for celebration is not much.

"I just saw the messages transferred from the surface. The Supreme Narrator’s influence has already spread to the real world; the disturbances at the Throat of Orlandeau have too many witnesses. This news will soon reach Rosetta’s ears—this headquarters is no longer safe.

"Following the draft plan pre-established by His Holiness the Pope, we must immediately commence the relocation of the headquarters. All members must leave, abandon this palace, take away all research materials and supplies that can be carried, destroy whatever cannot be taken on the spot, blow up the central support, elemental shell, and the upper dome, leaving no traces.

"All bases set within the Empire’s borders must also relocate. Amidst the chaos, informers and traitors will soon emerge, if necessary, we must be prepared to abandon all bases.

"All fellow citizens will go into dormancy, cease any church activities, and await unified instructions. As per the previous plan, move in batches towards Cecil—this work can be entrusted to Yuri."

Selena listed things one by one, and Semyer listened with a serious expression, nodding slightly, speaking in a deep voice: "Things have finally reached this point... It’s just a pity that seven hundred years of endeavor returned to square one overnight."

"Better than total annihilation," Selena shook her head, "And at least we have the knowledge accumulated over seven hundred years and a new force willing to accept us, so it doesn’t count as returning entirely to square one."

"What about the mind network over there?" Semyr asked again.

"... Without the support of facilities here, the operation of the mind network will be greatly affected, but fortunately, its foundation is built upon our brains. As long as enough priests survive, it can still maintain a minimal operation," Selena, having evidently considered this aspect, answered immediately. "After the transition begins, the mind network will maintain a basic mode. The dream city will no longer be opened until we establish a new headquarters with the Cecil Clan. The Pope’s Holiness has suffered significant loss in maintaining the sandbox, and for the time being, he will spend most of his time resting and recovering. Matters regarding the network will be overseen by Archbishop Daniel and me—mainly by me. Archbishop Daniel is currently in Aldernon, and considering safety concerns, he will only provide technical support."

"Hmm, I understand," Semyr nodded, saying, "This way, as long as the mind network is still in place, overall coordination will be much more convenient."

Then, Selena looked towards the other side of the hall, towards the computational node hall where the brain servants were located, her gaze landing on those observation windows and the gate that was in an open state.

Semyr noticed her gaze and, without waiting for her to speak, said with a hint of sentiment, "Archbishop Magnan... Rest assured, we will bring him along."

But Selena shook her head, softly saying, "No, bring everyone."

"Everyone..." Semyr was momentarily stunned, then furrowed his brow, "You mean all brain servants? That would probably... No, that will certainly consume more manpower and resources, and affect certain transition progress..."

"I know, but I’ve already calculated everything needed. Our time is indeed limited, but as long as we do our best, we still have enough leeway to transfer all brain servants to standby safe points," Selena looked into Semyr’s eyes. This might be the least rational moment for her in centuries, but she wouldn’t let overwhelming emotions affect the big picture. The arrangements she was making now were the result of careful consideration, "Transfer in batches to Orlandeau South County, Du Song County, Enqihok County, and Talenkins Region. The Cecil Railway Investment Company will help arrange trains or secret compartments. Relevant routes will be cleared soon, and everything will be sorted out."

"... But there might only be partial transfer," Semyr furrowed his brow, "The key is that not only brain servants are here. In more remote points, aside from nodes used by the Cecil Clan to maintain other sandboxes along rail lines, there are several more—transferring immobile brain servants is far more difficult than transferring regular personnel."

"Transfer as many as we can," Selena said, "For those we can’t, maintain them on site as much as possible."

"Maintain them on site? What’s the point in that?" Semyr furrowed his brow again, "The mind network itself doesn’t need brain servants, they are just for maintaining the Sandbox System. Now that Project Zero has ended, it will unlikely be used again, these brain servants..."

He looked at Selena with confusion but only saw deep, calm eyes in which her specific thoughts and emotions were untraceable.

Selena closed her eyes, seemingly contemplating.

This is a form of repayment, redemption for traveling down a wrong path; it’s a self-liberation, a first step for the Eternal Sleepers Sect returning to the right path; and a meaningful remedy, as the Oblivion Association has biotechnological techniques guarded by Cecil Clan, and not all brain servants there are beyond recovery...

But in the present, she had a more important reason, one that was far more convincing to everyone.

"It’s a ticket," she opened her eyes, looking at Archbishop Semyr, "A ticket for Cecil Clan, for Wanderers from Outer Realm to accept us—Cecil Clan has its own order and rules. If we want to return to the light, we must willingly embrace these rules from now. Archbishop Semyr, please let everyone understand— For every additional brain servant we save, some among us will serve less time sent to the mines and factories in the future."

She then added, "Also, remind everyone not to harbor any illusions, not to think of having the ability to avoid being incorporated and transformed by the Wanderers from Outer Realm. Remember, this time, it merely projected consciousness within the sandbox yet devoured the already divine ’Supreme Narrator,’ and even before this, it had already infiltrated and controlled the entire mind network."

A sense of awe gradually rose within Semyr, his expression particularly solemn, nodding slowly: "I understand."

Only then did Selena breathe a sigh of relief, her face suddenly revealing a slightly odd expression: "Now... shall we discuss a bit about Archbishop Magnan."

Upon hearing this name, not only Semyr but also Wendy and Yuri, who had just arrived nearby, simultaneously sank their facial expressions, showing a complex look.

"Archbishop Magnan made a noble sacrifice this time," Wendy said in a deep voice, "Perhaps, we should canonize him as a saint..."

"No, that’s not what I’m talking about," Selena raised her right hand, holding up the dream lantern, "I mean—"

The dream lantern emitted layers of gentle light, and suddenly, from within the light came a voice familiar to everyone, a loud voice: "Hey, hey? Hey! Anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me? What the hell is this place, can anyone hear?

"Hey! I’m trapped! This doesn’t look like Sandbox One! Can someone tell me what’s happening outside? Anybody? Anybody!"

Selena waved her hand above the lantern, releasing the soul contained within, and the glowing brilliance abruptly contracted into a human figure in front of everyone. Red short hair, short stature, Magnan stood in the hall, his entire person appearing semi-transparent, staring around with wide eyes.

Silence fell instantly.

"I collected his fragments at the ’border,’ just like how the Pope’s Holiness collected mine back in the day," Selena’s voice broke the temporary silence and awkwardness, "But it seems it has caused him some distress."

Magnan, hearing Selena’s voice beside him, looked at the familiar hall before him, then instinctively scratched his hair: "What’s going on... I remember I had already..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Yuri Charvin standing in front of him.

Embarrassment quickly flooded his confused expression, his mouth twitching, barely forming a smile, hesitantly greeting: "Ah, Archbishop Yuri, it appears... we succeeded?"

Yuri stared at Magnan in front of him, silent for several seconds, then slowly raised his right hand—

Slowly and firmly extending his middle finger.