Deep within the Spark Base lies Linde's private laboratory.
There was no grand farewell ceremony held here, only cold metal walls and silent flow of energy light.
Lind stood in the center, facing his eldest son, Loy Truk.
Young Roy still had a touch of scholarly naiveté on his face, but his purple eyes, inherited from his father, were now filled with a composure and solemnity beyond his years.
He clutched a faintly glowing crystal in his hand—a “Lord’s Beacon” created by Lind by fusing fragments of his own soul with the highest authority in the territory.
“Loy,” Lind’s voice was calm and even, as if he were simply conducting a routine technical handover, “After I leave, you will be the nominal heir to Blackrock Territory. This beacon can mobilize the territory’s energy reserves in critical moments and establish a supreme-level connection with the ‘Iron Sky.’ But remember, it is more of a symbol; the true power comes from your own wisdom and judgment.”
Roy took a deep breath and nodded vigorously:
“I understand, Father. I will use it with caution.”
Lind's gaze shifted to Astaire, who stood solemnly to the side. The loyal lieutenant's temples were streaked with gray, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's.
“Aster, you are in charge of the daily operations, military affairs, and defense of the territory. Roy’s duty is to learn and grow, and he must not interfere with your decisions unless it is a matter of life and death or I give a clear order. You need to ensure the absolute efficiency of the organization, as if my arm were still there.”
Astaire knelt on one knee, his right fist clenched and placed in front of his chest—the most solemn oath-taking gesture of a Blackrock soldier.
"I swear by my life and honor, my lord. As long as Blackrock Territory exists, Astaire exists."
Finally, Lind looked at Alice, Nazra, and Leonis, who were standing quietly a little behind.
They didn't speak, but their eyes were filled with worry, understanding, and unreserved support.
"I'll leave the internal coordination of the territory, family affairs, and... keeping an eye on Allen and Eileen to you."
Lind's tone softened slightly, a rare occurrence, "Stay home until I get back."
Alice stepped forward, gently straightening Lind's perfectly wrinkle-free collar. A fleeting glint of moisture crossed her blue eyes, but her tone remained unusually firm:
"Go without worry, we'll take care of things at home. The children... I'll watch over them."
Nazra and Leonis nodded emphatically, one with a cunning and sharp look in her eyes, the other with a resolute gaze.
All arrangements were made in secrecy. Apart from these few core members, no one inside or outside the territory knew that their lord was about to embark on a perilous journey to the unknown starry sea.
Linde nodded and said no more.
He took one last look at his son and followers, as if trying to etch their images into the depths of his soul.
He then turned and walked toward the teleportation array that was already prepared on the side of the laboratory.
A light shone forth, and space distorted.
When the light faded, the center of the laboratory was empty.
Only the cold metal walls and the lingering energy ripples in the air testified to what had just happened.
Roy gripped the crystal tightly in his hand, feeling the faint fluctuations emanating from it that shared the same origin as his father's, his young face filled with determination.
Astaire slowly rose to his feet, his eyes regaining their usual coldness and efficiency. He said in a deep voice:
"Madam, Young Master Roy, we should go out now. We need to verify the news that the Lord is in seclusion researching new energy sources."
Alice and the others composed themselves and nodded.
They knew that from this moment on, Blackrock Territory would enter a new phase where, without Lind in charge, it would still have to maintain its absolute authority and stable operation.
...
Meanwhile, above the Howling Abyss, on a patch of broken, floating rock formations rarely visited by humans.
Linde's figure quietly appeared.
He looked up at the sky over the continent of Tyre.
It was daytime, but the light was dim due to their proximity to the Howling Abyss.
He took a deep look at the land beneath his feet, the land he had single-handedly revitalized and for which he had established new rules, his gaze complex, which ultimately settled into a cold, resolute expression.
He took out the three pieces of the "Star Scale Boat".
In the dim light of the day, the starlight flowing within the dark scales became even clearer.
Without hesitation, he followed the secret method taught by Amaserak and infused his pure light and darkness power into one of the star scales.
"Buzz—"
The star scale trembled slightly, and the darkness on its surface receded like the tide, becoming crystal clear, as if it contained a miniature galaxy inside! A powerful pulling force was generated out of thin air, locking onto an extremely distant coordinate.
The space around Linde began to twist and fold violently. The continent of Til in his field of vision rapidly shrank and receded, transforming into a beautiful gem suspended in endless darkness, emitting a faint halo of life. It was then completely swallowed up by the surging chaotic colors and the radiant dimensional barrier.
The intense feeling of weightlessness and the tearing force of space came over him. If Linde had not already transcended his physical body and had not been protected by the stable force field emanating from the Star Scale Ship, he would probably have been crushed instantly.
He felt as if he had turned into a speck of dust and been thrown into a river that was rushing faster than the speed of light, made up of pure energy and laws.
All around were bizarre and incomprehensible sights: fragmented pieces of spacetime, distorted reflections of stars, and even fleeting glimpses of strange creatures (perhaps astral progenitors) that seemed to be made of pure information.
Traveling through the starry sky is far from a comfortable journey. It is the ultimate test of will and existence.
Linde shut down most of his external senses, focusing his mind into his body to maintain the balance of light and darkness, resisting the enormous burden brought by the traversal. At the same time, he spared a sliver of his will to hold the Star Scale Ship tightly, ensuring that the course did not deviate.
Time loses its meaning here.
I don't know how much time has passed; it could be a moment or ten thousand years.
Suddenly, the powerful tearing force and bizarre scenery around him receded like a tide.
An unprecedented sense of stillness enveloped him.
Linde slowly opened his eyes.
Even with his frozen composure, a trace of extreme shock couldn't be suppressed in his purple eyes the moment he saw the scene before him.
He was suspended in an endless void.
Beneath your feet lies a profound, soul-chilling darkness that seems capable of swallowing all light and hope.
Above and all around, there were endless, densely packed stars, each radiating a different color of light!
They are no longer those distant and blurry points of light in the night sky of the continent of Til, but are so real and so vast! Some are as fiery as burning blue-white giant diamonds, some are as gentle as gems radiating orange-yellow halos, and some are as dark as lurking red eyes... They converge into a vast sea of stars and a magnificent nebula, like an incomparably magnificent painting painted by the gods, spread on the eternal curtain of darkness.
Cold, deathly still, vast, yet... filled with an indescribable, breathtaking grandeur and beauty.
This is the Star Sea! Compared to it, the continent of Tyre is but a grain of sand in the Ganges!
However, what shocked Linde even more was that this seemingly desolate sea of stars was not empty.
Under his [Deconstruction Aura] and powerful perception, this void was more "lively" than anyone could have imagined!
Countless unidentifiable energy fluctuations filled the air like background noise—there were regular, faint signals that seemed to be emitted by man-made objects; there were violent, stellar wind-like particle streams; there were strange, gravitational ripples that seemed to distort space; and there were even some… fragments of mental fluctuations that were full of vitality, yet completely different from the creatures of the Tyr Continent, drifting by like whispers!
In the distance, a colossal, irregularly shaped man-made object (or perhaps the remains of some massive structure?) that appears to be made of metal and rock is slowly drifting along its eternal orbit, its size even exceeding that of a small mountain range.
It bears the runic markings of neither Zedu nor any civilization known to the Tyre.
Deeper into the nebula, in the far distance, a massive shadow seems to be moving, stirring up stardust and emanating an unsettling pressure.
Lin De could even vaguely sense that in several specific directions, there existed a kind of... "order" force field.
It was not formed naturally, but rather seemed to be a faint border fluctuation emanating from the territory or outpost established by some powerful civilization.
"The sea of stars... is not barren..."
Linde muttered to himself; his voice could not travel in a vacuum, but it echoed clearly in his consciousness.
He originally thought that the sea of stars was nothing but a void, except for the cold celestial bodies and the lurking extraterrestrial evil gods.
But now it seems that the place is far more "lively" than he imagined.
It contains countless traces of civilization, unknown life forms, and... immeasurable resources and dangers!
The continent of Til is merely a remote corner that has not yet been fully noticed by this "bustling" starry sea.
The Star Scale Ship in his hand had dimmed considerably, clearly indicating that this journey had consumed a large amount of its spiritual energy.
The direction it pointed to was a certain area in this "bustling" starry sea—one of the locations marked by the Dragon Clan as places where extraterrestrial evil gods might be active.
Linde suppressed his initial shock, his eyes returning to their cold and sharp state.
He adjusted his own energy aura, trying to blend into the surrounding cosmic background radiation as much as possible, while carefully spreading his senses outwards like a spider web.
In this boundless and dangerous sea of stars, he was no longer the powerful lord he once was, but a newcomer who needed to conceal himself as a "pathfinder".
His interstellar journey has just begun.
The real challenge awaits him deep within this seemingly dazzling but actually turbulent sea of stars.
Ahead lies an unknown civilization? A lurking evil god? Or... the ultimate answer that concerns the fate of the continent of Tiel and even the entire Order Universe?
Linde didn't linger. Following the last faint guidance of the Star Scale Ship, he transformed into an almost imperceptible stream of light and silently merged into the vast and "lively" background of the starry sea.
The journey began in the sea of stars, and it also ends at this moment, truly opening the prelude to exploring the boundless universe.
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