The passage extends downwards at an angle far exceeding that of natural formations. The smooth, dark material of the inner walls seems to absorb all light and sound. Only the faint light from Linde's own energy circulation illuminates the endless darkness ahead and the cold, repetitive geometric patterns on the walls.
The metallic, rusty smell in the air grew stronger, mixed with a very faint scent similar to that of ionized ozone, and a deeper, more primal sense of "ashes" left behind after countless pieces of information had been crushed.
[Deconstructing the Halo] Like the most loyal sentinel, it continuously scans its surroundings. The feedback indicates that this passage itself is part of a massive, undefined structure. Its material possesses extremely high energy conductivity, but at this moment, the internal energy flow is nearly exhausted, like a dried-up blood vessel.
“Energy depletion…activity reduced to minimum…” Linde murmured to himself, but his steps did not slow down at all. This state of depletion matched the core weakness he had sensed earlier, as well as the semi-dormant state of the external fungus system.
After walking for about a few miles, the passage seemed to come to an end, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A huge underground space appeared before Lind's eyes.
The dome of the space soared high, hidden in darkness, its top invisible. At the center of the space was an even deeper, vertical well-like structure that seemed to lead straight to the Earth's core.
From the edge of the wellhead, countless thick, dark purple pipes, resembling blood vessels or neural networks, extend out. Most of these pipes are broken and shriveled, like dead vines, with only a very few occasionally flashing a faint, sickly light.
These pipelines connect to the well wall, and some extend out and disappear into the surrounding rock walls, presumably forming a "network" that leads to the outside world and controls the fungus beasts.
The core of the entire space is that vertical well.
Linde walked to the well and looked down.
The well was bottomless, filled only with endless darkness. But that unusual fluctuation, bearing the characteristics of an evil god, came from the very depths of this well, countless times clearer than what was perceived outside the rift valley.
At the same time, a faint but incredibly pure "suction" came from the bottom of the well. It was not a physical pull, but rather an "absorption" of energy and even information itself.
(An automatic energy harvesting mechanism? Instinctively absorbing dissipated energy even in dormancy?) Lind immediately discerned the well's true nature. It was like a dying parasite, still instinctively trying to draw sustenance.
Instead of resisting the weak suction, he probed a tiny, completely controlled wisp of light energy into the well.
The energy threads swam downwards like swimming fish.
The power of the [Deconstruction Halo] attaches itself to it, "mapping" what it sees along the way back into Lind's consciousness.
The well walls were not made of rock, but of a dark material similar to the passage, but covered with more complex and ever-changing dark runes. These runes were not from either the continent of Til or the Zedu civilization; they were twisted and bizarre, seemingly alive, yet carrying a cold, lifeless sense of logic.
Many of the runes are faded and broken, clearly due to the passage of time or some kind of trauma.
As he went deeper, Linde “saw” the source of the dark purple pipes—they were like tree roots, clinging to the well walls at different depths, but most of them were dead.
Finally, after descending to an unknown depth, the energy threads touched the "bottom".
It wasn't solid ground, but a "swamp" made up of countless broken, twisted dark purple crystals and solidified, asphalt-like black material.
At the center of this energy swamp, floats a dark purple core, roughly the size of a house, with an irregular shape.
The core's surface is covered with cracks, like an eggshell about to break. Deep within the cracks, countless even finer, nerve-like filaments of light can be faintly seen wriggling slowly and weakly.
The core itself emitted an extremely dim light, and inside it seemed that a viscous, dark liquid was slowly flowing.
That aura of evil god originated from this thing!
The wisp of energy that Linde probed into was greedily captured and absorbed the moment it approached the core by the almost invisible energy tendrils extending from the cracks on the core's surface.
The core seemed to glow slightly as a result, but it vanished in an instant, returning to its original state, as if this amount of energy was not even a drop in the ocean.
(Severely damaged... Energy nearly depleted... Consciousness has fallen into a deep slumber, retaining only the most basic instincts—absorbing energy, maintaining a minimum level of operation, and... exerting a weak influence on the outside world through the remaining network.)
Linde immediately understood the truth behind the "underground whispers" and the fungus control.
The core left behind by this evil god suffered a devastating blow for unknown reasons (possibly the ancient "Great Purge" recorded in the Dragon Clan's history, or perhaps its own plan failed), and is now in a state of extreme weakness.
It cannot actively carry out large-scale erosion or summon companions. It can only passively absorb natural energy such as geothermal energy and radiation, as well as the spiritual energy or life energy dissipated by some creatures that occasionally enter its sphere of influence (such as those unfortunate Qitar insect people).
At the same time, it relies on the remaining pipelines connected to the fungus biological network to influence the fungus in the outside world at an extremely slow speed, turning them into its own "extensions". On the one hand, this is a defense mechanism to eliminate any existence that may threaten it (such as the insectoids that have penetrated into the rift). On the other hand, it may also be trying to slowly repair itself, or... send some kind of extremely weak "distress signal" that may never be received.
That giant humanoid form, assembled from the remains, is probably the most powerful defensive measure that this weakened core can currently activate.
“A…abandoned defective product? Or, a ‘tombstone’ left behind after the failure of some larger plan?” Lind coldly examined the dying core.
He attempted to use the "Deconstructing the Halo" technique to deeply scan the core's internal structure, hoping to obtain more information about the nature, technology, and even the origin of the evil god.
However, the core's internal structure is exceptionally complex and chaotic, with many key areas seemingly shrouded in a self-protective chaotic energy field. Forcibly breaking through could trigger unpredictable consequences, such as the core's self-destruction or the release of the accumulated, concentrated evil god's contamination.
Just as Linde was weighing whether to try to forcefully break the spell or simply purify and annihilate it completely to prevent future trouble—
Mutation and regeneration!
It seemed that Linde's pure light pulse energy stimulated some mechanism deep within the core, and the dim core suddenly trembled!
A large crack suddenly opened on the core surface, like an awakened eye. A dark purple beam of light, extremely concentrated and not an attack but pure "information," struck the energy thread that Linde had probed into the well at a speed beyond thought. It then traveled upstream along the energy connection, heading straight for Linde's main consciousness!
This is not a psychological attack, but a torrent of information compressed to the extreme, a "memory fragment" that records a certain part of the truth of this star field's past!
Linde's purple eyes were instantly filled with countless chaotic and fragmented images and perceptions:
• An endless fleet: A horrific fleet of ships, blotting out the sky and made of twisted biological tissue and unidentified metals, swarmed into this star field like locusts, their style exactly the same as the ruins beneath Lind's feet.
• A brilliant civilization: A vibrant and technologically advanced planet (not Qitar), orbited by a giant artificial ring, with radiant cities on the surface and an energy network clearly visible like veins.
• The Devastation: The evil god's fleet unleashed eerie clouds of spores, which, like living things, permeated the planet's atmosphere, infecting the land, sea, and even living organisms. The city's energy network was forcibly distorted and assimilated, its light extinguished and replaced by eerie purplish-black veins. Countless beings mutated and merged in agony, becoming part of the twisted monster.
• Fierce Resistance: The planetary civilization unleashed astonishing power, dazzling energy beams tearing apart ships, and powerful psionicists attempting to directly attack the fleet's core. Clusters of fiery explosions erupted across the starry sky.
...And the End: The scene abruptly ends, finally freezing on a beam of light, seemingly from beyond the universe, its color and form indescribable, sweeping across the land. Wherever that light touched, the evil god's ship vanished silently, as if erased by an eraser, leaving not even a trace. The infected planet, too, seemed to be "smoothed" by some force; the purplish-black veins on its surface rapidly faded, but life was nearly extinguished, leaving only devastation...
• The final image: A severely damaged evil god mothership (perhaps its flagship) hastily launched an "escape pod" carrying core data and biological samples to a pre-set, hidden coordinate (the planet Qitar!) before its final destruction... which is the predecessor of the core Linde is looking at.
The information deluge has ended.
The chaotic scene in Linde's eyes quickly faded, returning to its cold clarity.
He understood.
This star system wasn't always so "clean." In the distant past, a war broke out here between an invasion by an evil god and a powerful, unknown entity (perhaps an advanced civilization, or perhaps some kind of cosmic maintenance mechanism).
The invading evil god fleet almost succeeded, but at the last moment it was completely purified and destroyed by that unknown "light".
The ruins beneath his feet, and the weakened core of the evil god, are the only "survivors" and proof of defeat left behind by the evil god's side in that war.
It is so weak because it is itself the wreckage of that disastrous defeat, barely surviving for a long time without receiving support and repair from the mother body.
"I see... The 'abnormal activity' marked by the dragons probably refers to that ancient war, or the polluted aura left over from this star system after the war. And this core is just an insignificant 'scar' left over from that war."
Linde looked at the core at the bottom of the well, which had become even dimmer and whose cracks seemed to have widened due to the forced transmission of information. A look of understanding and disappointment flashed in his eyes.
He had hoped to find clues about the current state of the evil god, but instead he only found the remains of an ancient war and a dying, failed artifact.
This core has limited value. The technology it contains might be decipherable, but it won't be of much help in understanding the current dynamics of the evil god.
So, how do we deal with it?
Completely purify it to eliminate future troubles? Or... try to extract the last bit of value from it, such as analyzing its structure and understanding the evil god's technology tree and weaknesses?
Linde's gaze turned cold and sharp again. He slowly raised his hand, and the power of the Light Vein and Shadow Abyss began to gather in his palm.
Should it be temporarily sealed as a research sample, or should it be directly turned into cosmic dust?
His choice will determine the ultimate fate of this ancient wound.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com