Chapter 50
The water of the underground river was swift and cold, and the phosphorescent rock walls passed by overhead, casting bizarre, swaying shadows. The raft tossed and turned like a dead leaf in the raging waves, carrying two exhausted and wounded fugitives towards an unknown downstream.
Chen Mengzhou and Chu Li collapsed onto the rough wooden planks, barely able to move a finger, other than gasping for breath. After the adrenaline receded, they were replaced by a wave of exhaustion and excruciating pain. The exhaustion of their mental strength brought a deep-seated emptiness, as if their very souls had been drained.
In the silence, there was only the sound of flowing water and each other's heavy heartbeats.
After a long while, Chu Li finally turned over with great difficulty, lying on his side and looking at Chen Mengzhou, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against him: "...That ghost thing...didn't catch up?"
Chen Mengzhou closed his eyes, and his spatial perception was like a wounded tentacle, barely extending back a distance, and the only feedback he got was the hollow sound of flowing water and the echo of rocks.
"Not yet," she replied, her voice equally dry.
Silence fell again. The relief of surviving the disaster was quickly overshadowed by a heavier cloud of suspicion.
"The Foundation... what exactly do they want to do?" Chu Li stared at the shifting phosphorescence above his head, his eyes empty. "The thing that attracted the 'other shore'... do they think they can control it?"
"Madmen don't need a reason," Chen Mengzhou said coldly. "Or perhaps they think they've found a way to 'control.'" She thought of Adrian's fanaticism, the Dream Weaver's intentions, and the installed beacon. Beneath the madness, perhaps, lay a paranoid, self-righteous logic.
"Those silver-eyed guards..." Chu Li shuddered, "Kronos... have they transformed their own people into weapons?"
"It's more like an automatic defense in the worst-case scenario." Chen Mengzhou recalled the guards' actions and words. "Protecting the 'Lighthouse Core'... Perhaps the 'Lighthouse' itself is more important than we thought."
And then there are those buried, even older ruins... the grave of another civilization. How much failure and despair are buried beneath this land?
"Where are we going now?" Chu Li asked softly, a hint of dependence in her voice. The continuous upheaval and escape seemed to have worn away some of her sharp thorns.
Chen Mengzhou didn't answer immediately. She struggled to sit up and took out the black compass from her waterproof bag.
A cool touch came over me, and it was as quiet as ever.
She tried, as she had done countless times before, to inject a tiny bit of spatial energy into it.
This time, the compass didn't even light up. The needle trembled lazily for a moment before returning to dead silence again, as if it had exhausted its last bit of spiritual energy.
But it is not completely unresponsive.
At the moment when the energy was injected and dissipated, Chen Mengzhou's fingertips seemed to catch an extremely weak but extremely clear directional throbbing!
It is not the visual movement of the pointer, but a deeper sense of pulling that seems to come from the resonance of the soul!
Pointing... downstream!
This feeling is fleeting, but it is so real!
Chen Mengzhou suddenly raised his head and looked towards the dark river ahead, his pupils shrinking slightly.
"Follow the current." She put away the compass, her voice filled with undeniable certainty. "It... guides the way."
Chu Li stared at her blankly, then looked towards the bottomless depths ahead, and finally nodded silently. At this moment, she had no better choice.
The raft drifted on, time losing its meaning. The two took turns maintaining minimal alert, spending most of their time in silence and painstaking recovery. Chen Mengzhou attempted to channel the thin energy in the air to repair his injuries and spirit, a slow and painful process. Chu Li curled up, seemingly engaged in a silent struggle against the dormant "echoes" and chaotic memories within him.
I don’t know how long it took, but a different sound was faintly heard from the front.
It was no longer a monotonous flow of water, but... the roar of a waterfall? And the sound was getting louder and louder!
The two of them immediately became alert!
Chen Mengzhou struggled to climb to the front of the raft, squinting his eyes and looking forward. His spatial perception was still suppressed here, but he could vaguely feel that the space ahead seemed to suddenly become wider and...sinking!
"There is a cliff ahead! Hold on tight!" she shouted urgently!
Chu Li quickly grabbed the rope on the raft tightly!
As soon as he finished speaking, the raft suddenly accelerated, as if pushed by an invisible giant hand, and rushed forward like an arrow!
The scene before my eyes suddenly became clear!
They rushed out of a huge underground cavern, and in front of them was an extremely vast, bottomless underground abyss! A huge waterfall crashed down from somewhere above, smashing into the dark pool below with a deafening roar!
And their raft was rushing towards the edge of the waterfall along with the current!
It's over! If I fall down like this, I'll definitely die!
At this critical moment——
Chen Mengzhou suddenly felt the pull of the compass in his hand suddenly become extremely strong! It was pointing not to the bottom of the waterfall, but to a certain direction on the rock wall behind the waterfall!
"Over there!" She didn't have time to think about it, she pulled Chu Li up, and used up her last bit of strength to leap in the direction indicated by the traction!
At the same time, she released all the little spatial energy that had recovered in her body, forming an upward thrust!
The two of them flew over the edge of the waterfall narrowly, and crashed heavily into the slippery rock wall!
Plop!
There was no hard impact as expected, but it was as if I had broken through a layer of water film-like barrier, and my body suddenly felt lighter!
After the world spun around, the two men fell awkwardly onto the hard ground.
The deafening roar of the waterfall behind me suddenly became muffled, as if separated by a thick layer of glass.
Chen Mengzhou coughed out the water he had choked on and raised his head with difficulty.
Before our eyes is a huge, man-made circular cave.
In the center of the grotto lies a tranquil pool emitting a soft, milky white glow, a stark contrast to the raging waterfall outside. Surrounding the pool are neatly arranged steps and dozens of massive, severely weathered and damaged stone sculptures.
These stone carvings are ancient and strange, not human figures, but a kind of strange existence that combines the characteristics of various creatures and has a certain sacredness. They surround the pool, as if performing some ancient ritual.
The most striking feature is the grotto's dome. It's not rock, but a constantly shifting, celestial landscape! Stars flicker, nebulae circulate, vast and mysterious, casting a gentle glow across the grotto.
Where...is this place?
The air was filled with a peaceful, tranquil, yet slightly sad energy, completely different from all the dangerous and chaotic places they had experienced before.
That compass...led them here?
Chen Mengzhou looked down at the compass in his hand. At this moment, it had completely lost all its luster, becoming like an ordinary black stone, and the pulling feeling was completely gone.
It seemed as if its mission had been accomplished.
Chu Li also struggled to sit up, staring in shock at everything before her, especially the illusory starry sky above. "It's so strange here... It feels... so quiet..." She muttered to herself, her tense spirit seemingly relaxing a little unconsciously.
Chen Mengzhou observed his surroundings warily. His spatial perception was still limited here, but he could sense that the energy field was extremely stable and peaceful, seemingly devoid of any malice.
She slowly walked to the edge of the milky white pool. The water was crystal clear, yet the bottom was invisible. Only a soft white light shone from the depths. The surface was calm, reflecting the stars in the dome, a breathtaking beauty.
She squatted down and tentatively put her fingers into the water.
A gentle, pure energy, imbued with unimaginable vitality, instantly flowed through her fingertips and into her body! It quickly repaired her physical and mental trauma, and the comfort it brought almost made her moan out loud!
This water... has powerful healing properties!
She immediately scooped up the water and took a few sips. It was sweet and refreshing, like the purest source of energy, quickly replenishing her energy.
"Chu Li, come here!" she called out.
Chu Li walked over hesitantly and drank a few sips of water like Chen Mengzhou. A hint of color quickly returned to his pale face, and his eyes became more lively.
"This place... is so good... it seems unreal..." Chu Li looked around, his eyes still wary, but the comfort of his body could not be faked.
Chen Mengzhou felt the same way. In this apocalyptic world, the sudden appearance of such a peaceful, tranquil place with a healing holy spring was like a dream.
Who built this place? What was their purpose? Why did the compass lead them here?
Her eyes swept over the huge, bizarre stone sculptures, carefully identifying the blurred carvings on them.
Suddenly, her eyes fixed on the base of a relatively well-preserved stone sculpture, engraved with a complex circle of characters and symbols she had never seen before.
But one of the symbols made her pupils shrink suddenly!
It was a simplified, distorted pattern of lightning running through a circle!
Kronos's logo?! But in a more ancient, abstract style!
Is this related to Kronos?!
She hurriedly checked the bases of other stone sculptures and soon discovered similar, slightly modified, Kronos symbols on several others!
Could this be... a sacred site or outpost of Kronos? Even older than the Lighthouse?
Just as she was feeling agitated—
The flowing starry sky on the dome suddenly changed.
The light of the stars began to gather, gradually condensing into a vague human-shaped outline made of light in the center of the dome.
The silhouette slowly lowered its head and "looked" at the two people by the pond.
A gentle, aged thought, filled with endless weariness and sadness, silently enveloped them. It wasn't a sound, but a direct echo in their minds.
【——The latecomer...】
[——Finally… I’ve found… the holder of the ‘Key’…]
Chen Mengzhou and Chu Li tensed up instantly, as if they were facing a formidable enemy!
[——Don't be nervous...] The old thought seemed to carry a hint of comfort, [——I am not a physical entity... merely a remnant left behind by the guardian of this place... a message that has been awaited for far too long...]
The outline of the light swayed slightly, as if it would disappear at any time.
[——Time is running out... The 'barrier' is weakening... Their awakening is accelerating...]
【——Listen... and then... make a choice...】
As the starlight flowed, the light and shadow began to become clearer, and vaguely the image of an old man in a long robe could be seen.
The old man's shadow raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction of the cave. Following his guidance, Chen Mengzhou saw a huge, moving mural slowly emerging on the rock wall over there!
The contents of the mural flow at a rapid pace, like an epic poem on fast forward!
They saw... a brilliant silver civilization (Kronos?) in the vast sea of stars...
I saw a huge "lighthouse" that penetrated the dimensions, maintaining a certain balance...
Seeing the disaster coming, the "lighthouse" collapsed and the dimension shifted...
I saw the survivors fleeing on ships, heading towards the distant star region (solar system?) called the "lower fixed zone"...
During their escape, they dropped countless "sparks" (anchor sequences?) carrying "potential" onto planets along the way where life might exist...
I also saw... the forerunners arrived on Earth, established a stronghold, and attempted to rebuild, but ultimately failed again for some reason (the murals here became extremely blurry and chaotic), and it was reduced to ruins... (referring to the even older ruins?)
The last remaining will turned into this "Pond of Silence under the Starry Sky", guarding the final message, waiting...
Waiting for the holder of the "key".
The mural finally settled on a pattern - the black compass, suspended above the Silent Pond, emitting a soft light that complemented the pond water and the starry sky.
[——'Key of Time'...] The old man's light and shadow grew extremely dim, and his voice grew fainter and fainter. [...It's not a weapon... but a 'calibrator'... a beacon connecting to the 'Lighthouse' legacy...]
[…Find…the scattered fragments of the Lighthouse…collect them…before the Wall of the End is completely breached…]
[…Perhaps…it can still be saved…]
The light and shadow flickered violently and were about to disappear completely.
[…The choice…is yours…]
[…will it become a new ‘foundation’…or…will it be annihilated along with the old…?]
The last trace of thought dissipated.
The starry sky in the dome returned to its original state, as if everything just now was just an illusion.
Silence returned to the cave.
Only the milky white pool of water still emits a soft light.
Chen Mengzhou and Chu Li stood there, speechless for a long time.
The huge amount of information is like a tsunami, impacting the limits of their cognition.
Kronos is a fugitive... The "anchor" is the fire... The compass is the "key to time," the calibrator... We need to gather the fragments of the "lighthouse"... The "Wall of the End" (the "Wall of Weeping"?) is about to be opened...
And... the "foundation" hidden in those unfinished words?
You mean... "boundary marker"?
A kind of enlightenment, accompanied by a huge chill, swept through Chen Mengzhou's body.
The Foundation's crazy reverse anchoring plan might actually be accelerating the opening of the "Wall of End"!
And the so-called "anchor evolution direction"... "milestone"...
Maybe it's not evolution at all.
But...the ultimate responsibility and sacrifice.
Is it to become the last "cornerstone" to block the broken wall when everything is irreversible?
She slowly raised her head and looked at Chu Li beside her.
Chu Li was also looking at her. His glass-like eyes reflected the starry sky and the light of the lake, as well as the same shock, confusion, and a hint of... deep-hidden fear.
On the edge of a distant, forgotten galaxy, a dilapidated Kronos reconnaissance ship, as if it had experienced countless wars and years, glided through the shadows of the asteroid belt like a ghost.
Its hull was covered with thick cosmic dust and unrecognizable impact scars. All signal lights were off and its engines had long since stopped working. It seemed like a coffin trapped by gravity and drifting aimlessly.
However, within its deepest core chamber, an almost undetectable energy barrier separates the inside and the outside.
Inside the barrier, in a huge crystal column covered with complex interfaces, light blue nutrient solution slowly flows.
A figure was suspended in the liquid.
He/she (it's hard to tell the gender) is wearing the ancient uniform of a high-ranking commander from Kronos. His/her face is too perfect to be real, and his/her eyes are closed as if he/she is asleep.
Sudden.
His/her eyelids fluttered.
The screen in front of him, which had been dim for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, suddenly lit up with an extremely faint, intermittent light without any warning.
Beside the screen, a line of ancient Kronos characters emerged and flickered with difficulty:
[——Detected… ‘Key of Time’…activation signal——]
[——Signal source confirmed: Low □□ fixed area - Seventh sector - Third planet——]
[——'Spark' sequence…response——]
[——Wake-up procedure…starting——]
The nutrient solution in the crystal column began to circulate faster, making a slight gurgling sound.
The eyes that had been closed for countless years suddenly opened.
Revealing a pair of eyes... made up purely of flowing silver data points, devoid of any emotion.
Deep in her eyes, the distant light on the screen was reflected.
A cold, toneless voice rang out in the deadly core cabin, as if the gears of fate had begun turning again:
【——Command confirmed.】
[——'Reaper', awakened.]
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