Chapter 135 Who Will Proclaim the Way (Part Six) All fearless choices have their place…
Tai, the sun?
The meanings of the words before and after were too disjointed, causing Du Yu's pupils to freeze for a moment, and he was completely unable to understand Icaria's meaning.
The black-haired man grunted in response, offering no further explanation, and placed his hand on the uneven wall of the hole.
Du Yu narrowed her eyes, a sense of displeasure creeping into her heart for some reason. She quickly found the reason—Icaria, who was standing in front of her today, was inexplicably colder than she had been on previous occasions.
Perhaps calling them indifferent would be unfair, because they were still willing to answer any questions, but they lacked the previous fervor as if they had known each other for ages. Icaria's attitude was like that of a stranger, polite yet distant.
Normal people wouldn't be that fanatical, right? Among Icaria's clones, the proportion of three or four who are a bit dull is already quite high. He pursed the corners of his mouth and slowly pulled out a smile.
Icaria glanced at her, then suddenly turned away, asking, "Has another 'me' seen you?"
Although it was a question, it was spoken with absolute certainty. He didn't wait for Du Yu to answer, paused for a moment, and added: "Each of the main body's sub-bodies is in a different state, and their memories are not shared, but 'I' am the most special one among them."
What's so special about it?
As soon as Du Yu asked the question, she realized she had said something inappropriate. Discussing things too intimately with someone you don't know well is a major taboo in relationships, and the same applies to digging too deep. But after a second of reflection, she found that she didn't regret it—since she really cared, she should just ask directly; keeping it to herself and making wild guesses wasn't her style.
Icaria suddenly glanced at Du Yu again, her gaze lingering on her eyes before quickly shifting away, leaving Du Yu somewhat puzzled. There was nothing on her face, so why did she look at her so many times?
"I……"
Icaria pursed his lips, seemingly pondering how to explain. His long, thick eyelashes drooped down, and for a moment he looked remarkably like Sylvia, even sharing a fragile, melancholic air. However, when he opened his mouth, that slight resemblance vanished completely.
"There are many reasons why the main body creates sub-bodies. Some want to preserve something, some are searching for something, and some are simply sharing the pain. 'I' am the first sub-bodies that the main body split off from. I have only one purpose for existence: to preserve this memory and share it with every visitor."
Du Yu was still processing the news about the "first sub-body" when the other party paused and added, "Therefore, 'my' state is the most primitive, and I inherited the fewest memories from the original body. 'My' attitude doesn't mean anything, and I hope it hasn't caused you any trouble."
The fact that this Ikaria sub-body in front of her doesn't recognize her means that Ikaria when her powers first awakened had no connection with her. So, if they are in two different worlds, when did she meet Ikaria and then lose that memory?
Du Yu clicked her tongue softly. The memories she inherited from the original owner were fragmented, only improving slightly after obtaining the seed. Her own memories, however, were continuous and without problems, except—
In the later stages of the wasteland, she decided to head south with two friends to find the so-called "source of the Great Cataclysm." In the end, she was the only one left, having lost most of her memories. Only after transmigrating did she realize that something was wrong with her memories.
In that memory, what exactly did she, Wen Xi, and Shi Wei find that led them to become involved with Icaria from another world?
"You're the first one to come in after all this time. She must be lonely."
Icaria placed her right hand on the stone wall, her palm glowing with golden light. Du Yu snapped out of his daze. Even though he didn't specify who the person was, Du Yu immediately thought of that name in his mind—Sylvia.
Fragments of memory flashed rapidly like projections, appearing on the surrounding stone walls after a golden shimmer. However, compared to the smooth, movie-like images he had just seen in the laboratory, these memories were terrifyingly fragmented, to the point that Du Yu needed Icaria's explanation to understand what had happened.
"On a day so distant that the exact time is lost, humanity was horrified to discover that the sun was irreversibly decaying due to some kind of special energy, at a despairing speed. It is said that within a month, three highly respected scientists committed suicide one after another."
"Humanity was helpless against the sudden natural disaster and the despair that spread faster than the plague. At that time, doomsday theories even arose until humans discovered a will."
Icaria's voice is flat and devoid of any personal emotion, yet it's strangely suited for storytelling, allowing listeners to easily project their own feelings:
"It is said that she was one of the most outstanding physicists of her time, whose name is recorded even in history books. The letter she left before her suicide was very short, containing only one sentence: 'The root of everything lies on the far side of the moon, but does humanity really have the courage to face the cruel truth?'"
"Because of that will that wasn't quite a will, the largest space program in human history began. As it turns out, humanity was far too cowardly, so cowardly that it would rather endure the pain of seeking the truth than bear the cruel reality that everything would eventually perish—although subsequent events proved that humanity was not prepared to accept it in any way."
Lunar exploration program...
Du Yu nodded, understanding the background of the laboratory scene she had just witnessed. However, she was puzzled as to why this plan had turned the City of the Sun into such a wretched state. In her previous memory fragments, she had only seen the spaceship launch successfully, and guessed, "The spaceship ultimately failed and did not land?"
After all, no matter how mature the technology or how advanced the science, with that mysterious and unknowable energy at play, anything can happen.
Icaria shook her head, her calm voice inexplicably tinged with mockery: "If we had failed back then, our world might not be in this mess now. The lunar exploration program at the time was a costly undertaking, and the major political systems put aside their grudges and united in an unprecedented way. However, internal struggles always existed, and even if resources allowed after the satellite launch failure, there might not have been a follow-up plan."
"But as fate would have it, the plan was executed flawlessly. Initially, humanity did collect relevant energy samples and conducted subsequent analyses, discovering that as long as a method was found, the attenuation caused by this energy was reversible. In other words, the sun could be saved, and humanity could be saved. Scientists threw themselves into the project with boundless enthusiasm, and then—"
"Then?"
Du Yu's heart couldn't help but clench slightly, as if, with Icaria's narration, the desperate and cruel history before the City of the Sun was built appeared before her eyes.
"Humanity's attempts to explore were like the hand that opened Pandora's box. From that moment on, endless calamities began, and representatives of all human civilizations jointly initiated a cataclysmic event that nearly destroyed everything."
What exactly did they find on the far side of the moon?
"The source of the great catastrophe."
Icaria lowered his hand, and the golden light that had been swirling in the cave seemed to lose its energy and dimmed. He said softly, "Since humanity wants to seek the truth, the truth stands behind the universe and glances at humanity—[Source] watched this universe at that moment."
A gaze.
Just a glance.
【source】.
Du Yu shivered, silently reciting the somewhat obscure word in his mind. Regarding this "Source," the original owner's memories contained very little information; he only knew that a certain hypothesis held that all extraordinary beings possessed the same source, and simply and crudely named it "Source."
The stronger a superhuman is, the purer their traits are, and the closer they are to the "Source" in the realm of the extraordinary. Based on this, it is proposed that the nine superior elements that traits can be traced back to all originate from that "Source".
In the original owner's memory, this was just a very niche doctrine, and Du Yu hadn't paid much attention to it. Now, after hearing Icaria mention it, he dug up the relevant fragments in his memory and couldn't help but gasp.
All the superpowers used by humans come from that "Source." What kind of immense power and indescribable existence must that be?
As if knowing what Du Yu was thinking, Icaria shook her head: "To say that the [Source] is the source of all the extraordinary is not a complete statement. To be precise, the [Source] is the origin of all things. The division between the spirit world and the material world is just wishful thinking on the part of humankind."
"……Then what?"
Du Yu took a deep breath, using this habitual little gesture when facing pressure to suppress the shock and helplessness in her heart. Since she and Icaria could still stand here spreading despair, it meant that the world had not yet reached its final stage.
Pulling herself out of her inexplicable sadness, Icaria looked up, stared at Du Yu for a few seconds before looking away, and spoke a little faster: "The Great Cataclysm—let's call it that for now. After the Great Cataclysm, humanity's self-proclaimed glorious civilization rapidly withered. Cities, countries, continents, the areas that fell were worsening with every breath. Half of the people who carried out the lunar exploration program committed suicide, and the remaining people split into two factions in endless disputes."
"One faction decided to find a way to completely isolate the supernatural elements and return the world to normal, while the other faction believed that the change was irreversible and that instead of fighting desperately, it was better to try to master this power and use the supernatural to fight the supernatural."
At this point, Icaria's voice suddenly became very soft, as if she was suppressing something. "The First Faction painstakingly retrieved the AI from that satellite. Relying on algorithms and using the collective spirituality of mortals as fuel, they lit a massive ritual site called 'The Flame of Civilization,' blocking the gray fog that swept across the world and spread wildly outside the city-state."
"Most of the other faction rushed into the gray fog and became completely irrational corrupted beings. The rest awakened their special qualities under the influence of the corrosive energy. After the sun exploded completely, they sacrificed a companion with special qualities to create the sun that now rises in the west and sets in the east, preventing the planet from falling into silence."
Du Yu felt her scalp tingle as she listened. She couldn't judge which side was right or wrong for the time being, but she knew that no matter which side it was, the final result would be almost impossible to achieve, and would be the limit of what human beings could accomplish.
"...I'm sorry, please accept my condolences."
Icaria was taken aback, then shook her head. "She did it voluntarily, at least she did it voluntarily at first."
"But all of this was a lie from beginning to end. The split at the beginning was actually premeditated. All the fearless choices were driven by fate. I don't know if she regrets it, but I can feel that she is in pain."
"This is the origin of the New Sun Church. The New Sun is my father."
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Author's Note: This volume is basically just throwing out a bunch of plot points, I hope you won't find it annoying. The truth will come out, and the next volume will be the final battle! [pleading]
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