Chapter 546 The Truth of the Apocalypse 1
I've heard this idea, which attributes the origin of the apocalypse to humanity, on another occasion.
That happened shortly after defeating Mingzhuo, during a conversation with the Divination Master.
Given the immense power of the universe, even interstellar travel and extraterrestrial colonization are possible. Recreating Earth's ecosystem on other planets wouldn't be an impossible challenge. Therefore, I wondered at the time, why can't we just move humanity to Mars to avoid the end of the world?
Relocating the entire human race might be difficult, but as long as a portion of the population can be moved and the species can continue, that would be considered passing. First, firmly hold this bottom line. Then, if more people, culture, and technology can be transferred, that would naturally be even better.
The fortune teller gave me this answer—
"The source of the apocalypse is closely related to human consciousness..." I read aloud.
This answer seems different from answer number seven. One person said it was "human conscious activity," while the other said it was "human history." If neither of them is wrong, then there must be some common ground between them.
“Conscious activity…” Number Seven gave me a deep look. “Although I don’t know where you heard this from, it might be a valid explanation.”
"How so?" I asked.
"Let's first explain why the apocalypse originated from human history, and why it would lead to the apocalypse first arriving in the afterlife," said Number Seven. "Death and sleep are like twins. In human culture, death is often seen as eternal sleep. Occasionally, in some mythologies, the god of death and the god of sleep are seen as twins, or as one, as the domain of the same deity."
"And the nature of the afterlife is similar. The reason why ancient people could occasionally encounter the dead in their dreams, or travel to the heavens and temporarily set foot in the underworld while dreaming, is because the afterlife is essentially a common dream of humankind."
"There's a theory that since the emergence of Homo sapiens, the total number of human deaths throughout history is approximately 100 to 120 billion. While it's unclear whether this is accurate, this land of death's slumber does indeed contain the souls and memories of almost every deceased person from the past to the present. In other words, this space-time of souls is not simply a symbol of human history. It is human history itself, a collection of all historical information about the human race."
"Although all means of accessing this place from the outside have been cut off, it's only because the old ways of access have become unusable due to the dramatic changes here. It hasn't truly become completely disconnected from humanity; otherwise, the afterlife wouldn't be able to summon the souls of those suffering from amnesia on its own. This place remains humanity's shared dream, a deep ocean of the unconscious, recording all aspects of human consciousness in another form."
"It is precisely for this reason that when human history suffers from a major lesion, the afterlife, which is equivalent to human history itself, is the first to be affected."
“I see…” I said.
Now, the answers from the fortune teller and Number Seven have been integrated, and I also understand why the fortune teller said that the more people believe in the existence of the apocalypse, the more it will drive the process of the apocalypse forward.
This is because the root of this catastrophe, the massive lesion mentioned by Number Seven, is deeply entrenched in humanity's shared dream. And the more the ordinary people, who constitute the vast majority of humanity, are aware of the apocalypse, the more the pathogenic factor spreads within the collective consciousness, and the more severe the illness becomes.
Similarly, once everyone believes that the end of the world is inevitable, it means that the end of the world has completely invaded human consciousness, and at that time the end of the world will really flow directly from the afterlife into the world of the living.
Conversely, if no one believes in the existence of the apocalypse, will the apocalypse never come?
That shouldn't be the case. If making this level of effort could prevent the apocalypse, then those powerful figures, including the fortune tellers, who were intent on stopping it, would have already begun their actions. The "massive lesion" causing the apocalypse might expand its infection scale due to subjective influences, but fundamentally, it should still be some kind of objective entity.
"So, what exactly is this 'giant lesion' you're talking about?"
I've delved into the core part, and I already have some ideas in mind.
What Number Seven said next confirmed my premonition.
“I believe you have noticed long ago that there are many inconsistencies in our history,” she said. “The groups of monks who wield strange powers and the groups of ordinary people who are not so coexist in this world, yet human history has developed entirely on its own premise that these people do not exist.”
"It is clear that anyone who randomly steps out from the former group could easily surpass those religious leaders who only know how to pretend to be gods and swindle, and become a god, saint, or immortal in the eyes of the world; and if this person has a certain degree of power, he could also use individual violence to break through the army of any dynasty in ancient times and become the supreme emperor, or the ultimate general who will be remembered for all time..."
"But in reality, this didn't happen. Throughout history, both in China and abroad, there isn't even a single case like this. Do you think this is plausible?"
I deliberately said, "But... isn't there an explanation for all of this? Because long ago, a person made a wish upon the divine seal, separating the world of common sense from the world of the supernatural, so that they would live in harmony and not interfere with each other."
"Such a far-fetched reason...does it really make sense?" Number Seven asked rhetorically.
Of course, that doesn't make sense.
In the past, I could accept such a reason, but as my power has grown and my perspective has broadened, I have come to realize that this reason has a very significant flaw.
“I’d like to hear your opinion,” I said.
"My view is simple: the supernatural world and the common-sense world can never truly coexist peacefully," said Number Seven. "Take Luoshan for example. While human history in the common-sense world has been developing normally, Luoshan has not remained completely still. On the contrary, over the past few thousand years, Luoshan has been continuously expanding its territory."
"Wherever the Central Plains dynasties and their culture radiate in the world of common sense, Luoshan's territory will radiate there as well... And this territory will not shrink as the dynasty's rule shrinks, and even in places where the dynasty's rule has not expanded, Luoshan will try to expand."
"Today, Luoshan has ruled the entire Asian region, and even parts of Europe, Africa, North America, and Oceania are covered by its sphere of influence. In the process of this expansion, how much war and bloodshed has been generated? Although there are no records of related events in the history of humankind in the common sense world, the strange world also has its own long history of conflict... How could this not have affected the common sense world?"
"Leaving aside other things, in the history of Luoshan alone, there have been dozens of Great Impermanences throughout the ages, each of whom was a true deity who possessed immense power that reached the heavens and the earth. To describe them as 'walking nuclear bombs' is to insult the power they possess."
"They are all powerful beings capable of physically destroying the surface of this planet and causing the sixth mass extinction. You are the same in this respect, Zhuang Cheng..."
"Although the end of the world sounds like an unimaginable catastrophe, it's not so for you, is it? As the god of fire, you can create the end of the world with your own hands if you want to."
"In ancient myths and legends, you should have ascended to the heavens or the realm of gods long ago, places that would not interfere with mortals. But in reality, so many monsters like you are crammed into this small Earth. What kind of joke is this?"
"Forget about whether you've interfered with human history in the common-sense world. The first question we should be examining is why this 'fragile' world hasn't been accidentally destroyed by the gods yet... isn't it?"
Her words hit the nail on the head.
In fact, there have been explanations regarding the impact that impermanence has had on the world throughout history.
For example, many Witcher believe that a significant portion of Earth's current ecological environment was shaped by the actions of the Great Impermanence (a powerful, influential entity). The Little Ice Age during the Ming and Qing dynasties, recorded in the history of the common-sense world, is also attributed to the activities or absence of a certain Great Impermanence.
While global warming and the greenhouse effect are generally considered the consequences of human industrial activity and carbon emissions, there's also the theory that their root cause lies in the unpredictable forces of nature. Or rather, the very reason humanity so actively engages in industrial activity and carbon emissions is itself a manifestation of this unpredictable force influencing our collective consciousness. This influence is expected to intensify further in the future. Because of the existence of a "fire god" like myself, the greenhouse effect is bound to continue to rise.
However... such a "mild" impact is far from sufficient to explain the question raised by Number Seven.
The existence of gods and the influence of the supernatural world on the history of humankind in the common-sense world should be far more than this.
Then, Number Seven said something that further shattered my previous understanding of history.
"Separating the world of common sense from the world of the bizarre... such an event has never happened in the first place," she said.
(End of this chapter)
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