Endless Debt

The early morning light has risen from the end of the horizon, and the warm light touches the earth, dragging out long shadows. In a few minutes, the sun will rise slowly from behind the sea, spreading its golden light. Towards the earth, as always, like a great cycle, an eternal iron law.

Everyone in the world is the most loyal supporter of this iron law of nature, even Dudel is no exception. But today, last night to be precise, everything changed.

Dudel stood by the window sill, looking away little by little from the golden skyline of the rising sun, scanning the streets below the high-rise buildings. The originally empty city was now filled with people, and there were constant voices of discussion and people. With frightened expressions and some with strange fanaticism, they swarmed in as if preparing for a grand parade.

A march that was not allowed.

The piercing alarm bells rang continuously, and police officers from all over the city were dispatched. They stood on the streets, pulled up cordons one after another, clenched their hard batons, and struggled to maintain order. However, there were still constant outbreaks in the streets and alleys. A riot broke out together.

Some people shouted that the doomsday was coming, smashed the shops on the street, set fire to them wantonly, or climbed onto the street lights and waved their self-mutilating arms to everyone. Others knelt down piously and declared that this was the great god. Traces, repeating obscure prayers in his mouth.

Dudel's gaze moved upwards. Behind the tall buildings, where he couldn't see, there were faint fires and thick smoke rising like ribbons connecting the sky.

Taking a heavy drag on the cigarette, Dudel tried to relax with nicotine, but his body still couldn't stop shaking, and faintly, bursts of gunshots could be heard in the distance.

Since last night, Oath City Opos has been plunged into chaos. Riots of all sizes have continued until now. The city hall has done nothing except dispatching police to maintain order. It seems that they Don't know how to deal with this situation.

In the past, Dudel would have complained loudly about the bloated City Hall and cursed the pedantic bureaucracy, but this time Dudel unexpectedly understood them. Let alone the City Hall, whoever would do this would be at a loss. Bar.

Moreover, this kind of chaos should not only spread in Oath City Opos.

Dudel guessed that in this world, any place where you can see it when you look up, any place that will be illuminated by its brilliance must be covered by an uncontrollable madness, as if its appearance is a kind of madness. Deed.

As for whether this opportunity is what people call divine revelation or a sign before the end of the world, Dudel is not sure. He is an atheist and an optimistic and positive person. He has both results. dislike.

Dudel inhaled and exhaled forcefully. He tried to calm down his emotions and become less fearful. After the numbness in his body gradually dissipated, Dudel plucked up the courage and raised his head to look at the sky.

In that vast and vast north far away from the hustle and bustle, a spectacular scene comes into view.

A huge light track dozens of kilometers long stretches across the sky, like a thunderbolt emerging from the sky. It is sharp and bright. Its slender roots extend from the mountains. At high altitude, it explodes into countless branches. The overall structure Like a towering tree, the extended light tracks intersect with each other, forming a canopy that supports the sky and the earth.

The Tree of Light is not as fleeting as thunder, but completely stagnant between heaven and earth. It is like a reflection of some kind of power in reality, and like a wound that tears the world apart, a scar and a crack that stands in the world. .

It was too far away, which caused Dudel's vision to be a little blurry. He found that the edges of the tree of light were slowly moving, and streams of pure light flowed from the branches, forming a huge light between the tree crowns. dizzy, and then spread to the earth like catkins in the wind.

Under the guidance of this strange power, most of the originally dark night was illuminated, and the halo of light expanded wildly, competing with the sun and taking away the other half of the sky.

Dudel slowly opened his eyes wide, and his heart beat faster involuntarily. The light seemed to have some kind of magic power, which was breathtaking and ghostly.

Strange hallucinations, murmurings, twisted strange sensations extending from the inside of the body...

Dudel looked away in pain, arched his body, and vomited profusely. After a brief spasm, Dudel crawled back into his studio in embarrassment, as if escaping from the light. Reason was slowly slipping away from him. disappeared from his mind, replaced by fear and panic.

He sat in his seat, put on his headphones, adjusted the microphone, and took a deep breath again, trying to calm down his emotions.

In this chaotic moment, Dudel didn't know how many people would stay by the radio, and he didn't know if they still had the sense to listen to his words, but Dudel knew that he had to tell his dark premonition. Everyone.

Dudel opened his mouth with difficulty. He wanted to use his usual relaxed tone, but his voice came out of his throat and turned into a hoarse and low sound.

"Gray mist, industry, and..." Dudel said in a strange way, "and... the tree of light."

Sweat broke out from Dudel's forehead, and an inexplicable feeling of suffocation surged into his heart. He panted heavily, warning everyone based on his instinct.

"Don't look up, don't look directly at that light."

…

"So that light is the rift between the etheric world and the material world? A big rift across the sky and the earth?" Yas said in disbelief in the conference room.

"Yes, this is an urgent report from the Windyuan Highlands," Nathaniel said, throwing a document on the table. "A large rift erupted from the ridges of the mountains. It is said that the mountains have been completely filled with high concentrations of The ether is covering it, and all kinds of terrible supernatural disasters are breeding from it."

"This great rift connects the two worlds. Countless ethers are invading the material world from another world. According to the calculations of the Clerks family, soon, the mountains will be completely crushed and broken into countless debris. Sinking into the ether.

What's even more deadly is that after the mountains are crushed, a massive amount of ether will flow to the wind source highlands. In just one night, the ether concentration in the wind source highlands will increase by several indices. "

Nathaniel tried hard to keep his tone calm, but it was still mixed with a faint uneasiness, "Like a black hole that pierces the material world, after swallowing the mountains and the wind source highlands, it will continue to move towards the mountains with a massive amount of ether. Advancing around the world.”

"Isn't there any way to make up for it? For example, sealing the big crack?"

Holt sat at the corner of the conference table. Freya's emergency order also dragged him back from the border sanatorium. "I know this is not the first time a big rift has broken out in the material world. The last time was in the Holy City." When it fell, the big crack only lasted a few days before it healed."

"These days are different."

After pondering for a moment, Yas, as an expert of the Origin School, gave his opinion, "When the Holy City fell, the ether concentration in the material world was not too high, and the large rift in the etheric world could not exist for a long time. But now, The concentration of ether in the material world has reached a dangerous value, and this steady stream of ether is feeding back the Great Rift."

"The most important thing is that the Ridge of Mountains is different from other areas."

A voice interrupted Yas's words, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice. Boluogo was sitting at the end of the conference table, his eyes lowered and his expression solemn.

"According to the information I got from the devils, the ridge of the mountains is called the Gate of Origin by them. It is the first point where the etheric world and the material world overlap completely."

Boluogo declared coldly, "In other words, not only can the great rift not heal, it will only become bigger and bigger as the overlap between the two worlds intensifies."

There were sighs in the conference room, and everyone looked sad. This incident was too special. It was not a battle between forces, but a matter of the survival of the world.

"Everyone!"

A clear female voice sounded, and Bailey raised her hand, scanning the faces anxiously.

As the director of the Sublimation Furnace Core, Bailey has participated in various meetings, but this is the first time for such a serious meeting like today.

Except for some action teams located in Oath City Opos that cannot be rushed back for the time being, all the existing action team leaders are here, and the ministers of various departments are also sitting here. It can be said that the Order Bureau executes Senior staff at all levels are gathered here, and it can be regarded as another decision-making room.

Nathaniel asked, "What's wrong? Bailie."

"According to the calculations of scholars, the speeches of all the team leaders are correct. The great rift cannot be healed and will only get bigger and bigger. The etheric world will continuously pass through it and pour ether into the material world. At the same time, there will be more and more More and more of the material realm sank into the etheric realm, torn into pieces by the nothingness and digested."

Bailey first repeated everyone's thoughts, and then she put forward her own opinion, "But it should be noted that the massive ether is radiating towards the whole world from the Great Rift as the origin. The closer to the area of ​​the Great Rift, the greater the It is easy for ether vortex points to appear, which can lead to extraordinary disasters."

She stood up, walked to the front of the conference room, and fiddled with the projector twice. The room suddenly darkened, and in the rising light, the map of the Rhine League was displayed on the curtain.

"The area around the Ridge of Mountains has fallen into a red zone. There is a high probability that cities will be hit by extraordinary disasters. Before taking various actions, I propose to protect these cities or evacuate people."

As Bailey elaborated, her heart became heavier and heavier. She knew that this was just a temporary measure. As time went by, extraordinary disasters would sooner or later sweep across the entire Rhine League. Even if some people survived, they would face That’s right, it’s also a reality that falls apart.

The etheric world is like a brutal predator. No one knows how many worlds the etheric world has eaten away in its eternal world and its boundless blue void.

What Bailey knows is that the material world she lives in will not be the first, nor will it be the last.

"Besides, there is one extremely important thing."

Bailey took a deep breath and swung the projector. The picture on the screen changed, and a report appeared in front of everyone.

"Everyone here is a sublimator, and you should all be aware of the power of ether. Under normal conditions, ether is inert. Unless guided by a sublimator, they will not affect reality at all. But as the concentration of ether increases, they will spontaneously It permanently distorts reality to a certain extent, which is what we know as the etheric vortex point."

"What I want to say is that this kind of spontaneous distortion of reality is not limited to the ether vortex point," Bailey recalled her brief observation of the Great Rift. "Now, there is a steady stream of high-energy ether coming from the Great Rift. When erupted, some of them can be diluted by the material world, but some of them will spread to the earth like radiation."

"The Sublime One possesses the Moment Soul Criticality. Relying on the ether mutual repulsion, it can withstand a certain degree of ether radiation, but mortals are different."

"Is it ether radiation?" Nesanil paused, "I really haven't understood this before. Please explain it in detail."

"Just like radiation in the conventional sense, once high-concentration ether jets are radiated to mortals, they will distort reality, and then distort their bodies and minds," Bailey said feeling uneasy. "I speculate that, in addition to In addition to extraordinary disasters, what we have to face next is the impact of etheric radiation on mortals."

Nathaniel asked, "Influence? Be more specific."

A heavy feeling of suffocation blocked Bailey's throat. She took a deep breath and silently clenched her fists.

"Can you be more specific... The physical effects are mostly flesh and blood distortions, while the mental effects are hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and even being completely twisted into a lunatic."

Bailey uneasily twisted the hem of her clothes with her hands, "Of course, the specific situation is far more complicated than what I explained. After all, it is ether, which is powerful enough to cause miracles."

The condensed ether is enough to cause extraordinary disasters, and the ether radiated to the earth as a beam of energy will distort everything it touches, including humans.

Bailey whispered, "After all, human beings are also part of the material world, as are animals and plants... No one can escape the direct radiation of the etheric world."

The conference room fell into a brief silence. Everyone exchanged glances with each other, thinking about the future direction of the world situation.

No, there seems to be no direction left. Before the decisive battle with the Kogadel Empire begins, the disaster that broke out within the Rhine League will be enough to defeat them.

Someone said quietly, "The extraordinary prosperous age..."

Many sages dreamed of the day when they could control the ether at will. Now that day has come, the mysterious ether world is so close, but what it brings is not miracles, but disasters.

Isn't disaster a kind of miracle?

"Forget about what happens in the future."

Boluogo was the first to break the silence. His eyes were full of fatigue, like a piece of weathered and rusted steel.

"I want to know, why is it at this time?" Boluogo looked at everyone in confusion, "Why did the Gate of Origin open at this time, detonating the ridge of the mountains."

Boluogo looked at Bailey and asked, "Is it a natural factor?"

Bailey denied, "After learning about the situation at the Gate of Origin, we set up multiple ether detection stations around the ridge of the mountains. During this period, its ether concentration index has been normal."

Boluogo walked towards the door and murmured to himself, "Is that an external force intervening? Is it the devil? They want to speed up the overlap of the two worlds?"

No one answered Boluogo's doubts. Standing at the door, he stopped and said, "Flia, I want to go to the ridge of the mountains to see the situation there with my own eyes. Take me to the transfer station and get ready. The door to the Winding Path in Windy Highlands.”

"Sorry," Freya emerged from the wall, "Due to the ether impact caused by the explosion of the great rift, strong ether turbulence enveloped the entire Fengyuan Highlands. The existing means of moving the Winding Path Gate are temporarily limited. failed."

"How long does it take to recover?"

"I don't know," Freya frowned, "but judging from the current amount of ether pouring in the Great Rift, it will be impossible to establish contact in the short term."

Boluogo's breathing became heavier, which meant that the Bureau of Order had completely lost contact with Fengyuan Highlands and had lost all ability to quickly reach them.

"We can mobilize..."

"No need."

Boluogo stopped Freya's words, turned around, and asked Bailey, "Since the Great Rift has opened up in the material world, then it must also have an extremely obvious projection in the etheric world, right?"

Bailee's voice became louder, "Theoretically, that's it...wait, what are you going to do?"

"Now someone must get to the ridge of the mountains as soon as possible to understand the situation on the scene."

As Boluogo spoke, the ground beneath his feet cracked, and the broken darkness enveloped Boluogo little by little.

"I will take care of everything, just follow up as soon as possible."

Darkness obscured Boluogo's vision. When everything became clear again, he was standing on the high platform of the garden. He looked down at the Gnaw and Brutal saw ax hanging on his waist. Boluogo was glad that he was a portable People who carry weapons, or else spend time retrieving them.

There is no time to congratulate Palmer for being promoted to baseman, and there is no time to say goodbye to Aimu. Boluogo must now race against time.

"Since the transfer methods in the material world have failed, let's reach the ridge of the mountains directly from the ethereal world..."

While talking to himself, a terrifying ether reaction erupted from Boluogo's body. High-concentration ether was superimposed on him layer by layer, bending the space he was in and crushing reality.

Etheric Siphon.

Amidst the familiar, crisp sound of breaking, the vast wind and snow covered the icy and forbidding garden, and the chill rose. When they dissipated, Boluogo was already standing on the ice field of the ethereal world.

After searching around, at the end of the ice field, Bologo saw a large crack tearing apart the etheric realm. It shone like a towering tree of light.

Boluogo walked quickly in the direction of the Tree of Light. He wanted to pass through the great rift from the etheric realm, and then reach the material realm and the ridge of the mountains.