Phil Gray continued down the stairs, carefully making no sound and trying to take advantage of every available cover, but everyone was busy with their own things and no one paid him any attention.
Finally, we reached the very center of the temple, where a huge stone tablet stood, and an old man with white hair was meditating with his eyes closed beneath it.
The stone tablet was covered with densely packed characters, but before he could examine it closely, the old man noticed his arrival.
"An outsider?" The old man opened his eyes and turned his face toward him. His face was full of wrinkles, like dried and dehydrated tree bark.
Phil Gray was unsure how to proceed, so he neither denied nor confirmed.
The old man stopped looking at him and instead focused his gaze on the stone tablet, scanning the inscriptions inch by inch. Phil Gray followed his gaze, trying to make out what they were, but because it was too dark, the inscriptions were blurry and indistinct.
"These people sacrificed themselves for the light on the island. Sometimes I wonder, was this sacrifice right or wrong? To give up young lives for a year or even a day of light, is it right or wrong?"
The old man seemed to be muttering to himself, or perhaps speaking to him.
So this is the list of people who sacrificed themselves for the island's future.
Phil Gray firmly replied, "The value of life lies not in its length, but in its depth and meaning. To fight for the light was their wish, and to die with honor is no longer a question of right or wrong."
In any world and at any time, there are always people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that their descendants can see the light. These people are true heroes, and his gaze toward the stone tablet was filled with reverence.
"In their hearts, this sacrifice was necessary, an essential path to a bright future. Even if they ultimately failed, they still did their best. We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it, find new ways to embrace the light, and make such sacrifices unnecessary."
He didn't know what methods the islanders had used to find the light, but the fact that the island remained dark proved they had gone astray.
The old man smiled and shook his head after hearing his answer, saying with emotion, "You're wrong, but you're also right."
"What do you mean?" Phil Gray asked, puzzled.
The old man's voice was cold and stern:
"Some of these people sacrificed themselves voluntarily, but most were forced to sacrifice themselves."
"Forced?"
The old man sighed and slowly said, "Let me tell you a story. The story begins on an island far from the mainland. The island is rich in resources and has a beautiful environment. Tourists often come to visit, and the islanders live in peace and contentment, enjoying a happy and fulfilling life."
Phil Gray knew he was talking about the history of the island.
"Then one day, the sky suddenly darkened, like a bottomless abyss, and the entire island was devoid of any light. The islanders were terrified. During the entire month of waiting, they broke down and wanted to escape the island, but they found that no matter what they did, they could not leave. Wind and rain could come in, birds could come in, and even passing tourists could come in, but once they came in, they could never get out."
"Despair and fear took hold on the island. As the flowers, grass, and trees withered and died, and the birds and beasts disappeared due to the lack of sunlight, the islanders also died one after another due to the lack of sunlight and food."
At that very moment, someone stepped forward. He was the first to sacrifice himself for the light, a pioneer, the hope of the entire island. He directed the people to build five lighthouses in the east, west, south, north, and center of the island, and then used his own head and limbs as fuel to set the lighthouses ablaze. Thus, light remained on the island for another three hundred years!
"This person must be no ordinary person, right? Perhaps he is a chosen one of the gods?" Phil Gray frowned and speculated.
"You know the Chosen One? Yes, he was a believer in the sun, an elder of the Church of Dawn. He just happened to bring a few of his students to the island for a visit, but he ended up sacrificing himself for us."
The old man's voice was filled with sorrow.
Elder, no wonder. Only those of divine descent can become elders in the Dawn Cult. No wonder they have brought light to the island for three hundred years.
"We will always remember his kindness to the dawn, but three hundred years later, the lighthouse went out and the light disappeared again."
Phil Gray seemed to realize something.
"The three students he brought back took root on the island. They brought the faith of Dawn and led the people to build this temple, praying that the gods would lead them out of the darkness. Some islanders also became chosen ones under their guidance. Then, after three hundred years of development, the number of chosen ones of Dawn increased, but unfortunately, the number was still very small, and no one could reach the level of the elders anymore."
“Three hundred years from now, the islanders want them to light the lighthouse again?” Phil Gray asked.
"No, at this time they were willing, and even prepared in advance. Unfortunately, they were far inferior to the pioneers. Even if they sacrificed themselves one after another, the longest the light lasted was only one year. Some people sacrificed themselves and could only keep the lighthouse lit for one day. Later, the number of those who were favored by the dawn decreased, and the few remaining were unwilling to sacrifice themselves anymore."
“But light can really be addictive, even if you know it’s so fleeting.” The old man’s voice trembled slightly. “Those islanders who had once been bathed in light could not bear the fear of returning to darkness. So they began a hunt for the Dawn’s Chosen. The remaining Chosen were forced to sacrifice themselves. Perhaps the gods were even angrier because of this, and no more Dawn’s Chosen appeared on the island.”
"Why do the islanders want to exterminate them all? Why can't they leave some of the Dawn's Chosen ones alive? Perhaps if they were of a higher level, they could find a way to completely solve the problem?"
And even if no other way can be found, if those lower-level beings are allowed to grow for a while longer until they reach the level of a god, surely one life can only be exchanged for one day of light?
The old man said with a wry smile, "The darkness has long since made the islanders lose their minds. With the prey right in front of them, how can a beast that has been starving for so long have the patience to wait for it to grow any bigger? Besides, if it grows any bigger, it's uncertain who will eat whom."
Indeed, a single high-level divinely favored individual can be worth a thousand troops, and no matter how many of these islanders there are, they are no match for them.
"And then what?"
Phil Gray moved closer to the stone tablet, trying to make out the names on it in the dim light.
Those names were engraved with unusual depth, as if every stroke contained endless pain and perseverance.
His fingers gently touched the engravings, as if he could feel the last breaths of those victims.
"Later, the Dawn's Favorites became a substitute for light. Any Dawn Travelers who accidentally drifted here were used as fuel for the lighthouse by the islanders. They believed in the sun, but they also wanted to destroy it."
Phil Gray was startled; no wonder the islanders reacted that way when they heard they were followers of the Dawn.
Oh no, the elder is in danger!
Wait a minute, the elder is a god descended from heaven, shouldn't the islanders be the ones in danger?
Phil Gray felt relieved knowing he had a strong support system.
Perhaps he should hide his identity better now, but as a favorite of three gods, hiding his identity is not difficult at all.
"These names are all those of the Dawn's Chosen who were accidentally stranded on the island..."
The old man's voice was gradually drowned out by a sigh.
"You already had the answer to your initial question, didn't you? Trading an innocent life for such a brief moment of light is wrong! It's a meaningless sacrifice! And it's not the same concept as what I meant by sacrificing one's life for the light." Phil Gray looked sharply at the old man and said coldly.
The old man shook his head again. "But it is precisely these brief moments of light that have allowed us to persevere for seven hundred years. If we hadn't been able to bask in the light briefly every few years, perhaps everyone would have long forgotten the light and lost the motivation to pursue it. Wouldn't we have been forever trapped in darkness?"
"So you hypocritically feel guilty about their sacrifice, yet you don't want to lay down your butcher's knives?"
Phil Gray said sarcastically, looking directly into the old man's eyes. "You know what? True light is not the absence of darkness, but the presence of someone willing to light a lamp for you in the darkness. When that elder was here, you still had light, but you destroyed it with your own hands. Even if those lighthouses shine again, what difference does it make? Your hearts have already fallen into the abyss."
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