Chapter 1070 Demonstration

When the world is on the verge of ending, cause and effect will gradually fall into chaos. It wasn't that the last End Envoy to remain conscious came to Duncan, but rather that an End Envoy who would ultimately remain conscious "appeared" in Duncan's vision.

But for the two parties involved, who was the cause and who was the effect didn't seem to matter.

"What's your name?" Duncan looked at the white-robed old man, suddenly feeling curious.

Faced with such a simple question, the traveler in the tattered white robe frowned deeply. He thought for a long time before gently shaking his head, "I don't quite remember. The last time I used a 'name' seems to have been a long time ago... But if you like, you can call me Krete."

"Krete?" Duncan frowned. "That's the name of your people."

"... Oh, right, no wonder it sounds so familiar," the old man said with a look of sudden realization, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "That's good, just call me that. I like the name."

Duncan was silent for a moment, then nodded gently. "Alright, Krete. I have some questions now."

"Please ask, I have plenty of time this time."

"First question, why choose to meet me at this time?" Duncan looked into the other man's eyes, his tone very serious. "What is the purpose of this 'window of opportunity'?"

"... We have actually been looking for an opportunity to contact you directly—I'm referring to those of 'us' who still retain their sanity," Krete hesitated almost imperceptibly when answering this question, but quickly gave an answer. "It's just that contacting you is a very difficult thing—in fact, we tried once before today, but... we missed that window."

"Your creator... you mean Navigator One?" Duncan realized and then nodded. "Yes, he wanted me to take over his authority, to take over this world, but I refused."

Krete raised his head, looking at the dark roof above, until the surroundings returned to silence again, then he turned his gaze back to Duncan.

A slight tremor and creaking sound entered Duncan's ears. A low and uneasy sound echoed from the depths of the Vanishing, but after a few seconds, these strange noises gradually subsided.

"Demonstrate something?" Duncan's expression immediately turned serious after hearing these words. "What does that mean? What are you going to demonstrate to me?"

"... Before that, I want to confirm one thing with you," Krete raised his head, staring at Duncan. "You have rejected our creator, haven't you?"

The End Envoy (or rather, the End Survey Team) knew the truth about him, the "Fire Usurper," knew that he was an alien soul occupying the body of Duncan Abnomal—this was something he had already noticed. But another part of the truth completely exceeded his expectations—

Duncan quickly sorted out the information in Krete's words and gradually realized, "So, you originally didn't intend to contact... 'him'?"

In the memories of Tirian and Lucretia, those "uninvited guests" who had suddenly appeared on the Vanishing, those End Envoys who had talked with Duncan Abnomal all night long... they were originally coming to find him!?

"Yes, we came too early," Krete nodded gently, repeating these words again. "When we discovered that it wasn't 1900, the window had already closed... and that was the biggest 'linear runaway event' we had encountered since we set out. From that day on, many things began to lose control, but in the end... everything seemed to remain on its intended trajectory. Duncan Abnomal still embarked on his last voyage—after learning of his ending in advance."

Because of these few short sentences, a storm of thoughts had already been stirred up in Duncan's mind!

"... Missed a window?" Duncan asked with a puzzled look. "What does that mean?"

"We came too early, Captain," Krete said calmly.

"Yes, we revealed his ending to a man going to his death in advance," Krete nodded slowly. "I know what you want to say, but the truth is, when we appeared on this ship, he seemed to already know certain... things. As a great explorer, he had anticipated his fate. Our appearance only surprised him for a few seconds, and after that, until the window closed, he was just asking us about how to navigate the Border Sea."

Duncan paused for a moment, and after a very brief moment of thought, he suddenly understood what the other man meant. "Are you saying that the three who appeared on the Vanishing back then..."

"After missing that window, our only remaining opportunity to contact you is today—or rather, only when the stability of the Sanctuary drops to near its limit can we, these 'anti-order' existences, safely enter your field of vision. And it is precisely because the stability of the Sanctuary has dropped to its limit that we have the opportunity to... demonstrate something to you. This will help you understand the fate of this world, the 'predetermined' fate so far."

"... Is that so? That's good," Krete said to himself after hearing Duncan's reply.

Duncan was somewhat curious. "... What does this have to do with what you want to show me?"

Krete didn't answer directly, but instead walked forward, all the way to the door leading to the subspace, which was now tightly closed.

"Have you opened this door?"

"No," Duncan walked over, his tone immediately wary. "This door leads to the subspace. Opening it in reality is not a good idea."

"It's alright, you don't need to be nervous—I won't open it, nor do I have the ability to open it," Krete noticed the change in Duncan's tone, a wisp of a smile appearing on his face. "I'm just bringing you to take a look."

Duncan carefully observed Krete's actions while cautiously speaking. "Take a look?"

"Everything will be reflected in the subspace... as long as it's a possibility of this Sanctuary, the answers have long been imprinted in that endless sea of chaos, and we..."

Krete muttered softly, suddenly reaching out and tapping the doorframe twice.

"... We have always been good at撈取时光长河里的浮光掠影 (lāo qǔ shí guāng cháng hé lǐ de fú guāng lüè yǐng—plucking fleeting glimpses from the river of time) from that chaos."

The next second, under Duncan's somewhat surprised gaze, the door suddenly shattered like an illusion—light and shadow beyond the limits of human understanding rushed towards him like a storm, and then reorganized around him in the blink of an eye.

He almost attacked, but he controlled his impulse at the last moment, and instead stood calmly in place.

Because he didn't feel any threat or hostility, and he could even clearly feel that the door was still standing intact in place—Krete's aura was also nearby, without any change.

He looked around and found himself standing on a dark high mountain. A chaotic and gloomy sky enveloped everything. A dim light was hidden deep in the clouds. Below the high mountain was a vast plain, and on that boundless land, he could vaguely see city-like ruins, as well as dry and broken elevated aqueducts.

Apart from that, there was the cracked and dry earth. A kind of fine "ash" covered everything in sight, filling those ruins and aqueducts, and swirling in the valleys with the wind, blowing towards the plains like a mist.

A piercing chill filled the air, as if even the flying ashes were about to be frozen.

Duncan quietly looked at all of this, and after a long time, he spoke softly, "What is this?"

"This is the Age of Fire, Captain," Krete's voice came from the side—he didn't know when he had stood there, still wearing his tattered white robe, but the white robe seemed to be even more tattered.

After a moment of silence, Duncan asked again, "Is this some historical branch?"

"This is the only historical branch under the premise of the Sanctuary's continued existence," Krete said.

Then this "End Envoy" paused, seemingly organizing his words, before continuing to speak:

"In the beginning, you reshaped the earth, and all the unrealized grand plans on the blueprint appeared in the world. The vast land that humans had never imagined rose from the sea, city-states were connected, and resources became abundant—then, you calmed the sea, allowing more life to flourish in the sea, and the seawater was purified in the mountains, turning into rain and snow that fell on the earth.

"Then, the world began to prosper. For a time, the prosperity of this new world even surpassed all the poems praising the beauty of the deep sea era—powerful countries rose on the earth, developing and growing stronger day and night. New technologies were discovered, new poems, literature, and fantasies about the future—steam trains crossed mountains and wilderness, and huge pipeline devices connected the steel jungles of factories and cities...

"So many stories, so many lives, heroes and heads of state, knights and philosophers, legendary adventurers, and ordinary people working hard in the cities.

"Captain, believe me, if I hadn't shown you this scene directly, but instead showed you those glorious days, then even you would have been a little moved—even the most steadfast governors and guardians in this world would be willing to exchange everything for that world, even if it only shone for... a very short time."

Duncan didn't speak. He stood on the mountain peak, quietly overlooking the dry and broken land beneath his feet, and broke the silence after a long time. "Are there any living people at this moment?"

"No, the ashes have devoured everything—do you see that city ruin? The tallest church in the city center... the last survivors breathed their last breath there. Now, there is only a hollow soul wandering in that church, she holding a greatsword, but that sword cannot protect anyone at this moment."

Duncan raised his head again, looking at the dim light in the sky. "What is that?"

"A... very small sun, when the world began to cool down, she tried to reheat this land and supported it for a long time."

"Where is my flame?"

"Extinguished, Captain," Krete said slowly, "after you burned everything that could be burned in the world."