High Above

"It's the center of the earth! The Dead King's plan... the ultimate goal is to create a 'hell' in the center of the earth!"

Ian finally understood everything at this moment.

The legacy left to Grand Duke Thorin by Inaga II is called the 'Spiritual Fire', which is an advanced composite psychic project that only exists in conception.

In essence, it is no different from the 'Spark Spaceships' that crashed on Terra and the Moon. Its purpose is to create a vehicle that can exist for a long time, travel in space, and preserve traces of human existence, all technologies and Art, civilization and gene pool spacecraft, and then launch it to a planet that may be suitable for life.

Next, the fire will be revived and the fire of human civilization on Terra will be rekindled, or it will be absorbed and integrated by alien civilization like the fire that Terra received. That is what will happen in the future.

In any case, whether it becomes the food for the progress of other civilizations or whether it is a part of the integration, it is evidence of the existence of human beings. It is better than being sealed in the prison of the prison star, as if it has never existed.

A spark burning in the darkness of despair.

The most helpless choice.

However, due to the premature death of Inaga II, this plan did not have time to be implemented... Of course, it was not just that, because this plan really had too many difficulties.

Apart from anything else, just a few problems that were solved in the hands of Adebert, if Archduke Thorin hadn't used inhumane means to merge the secret technologies of the two countries at the cost of betraying the empire and joining forces with the Flying Fire Land. , success is something you can’t even think about.

But even so, Archduke Thorin had no way of creating a psychic spaceship that could stably exist in the void of the universe.

Even if it were possible, with current technology, it would not be practical within fifty years.

So he was desperate and could only choose another route.

Since you can't shoot fire...then at least you have to leave a tombstone.

The living tombstone of human civilization.

Adlbert believes that there is no environment on Terra that can naturally provide a large amount of energy for the existence of souls. That is because he is still too young and has never seen a truly big scene or extreme environment... And Thorin The Grand Duke has seen it.

He immediately thought of the center of the earth.

Although the core of the earth is not eternal, it will also cool down, and the planet will also break, just like the moon that is looked at... But in any case, its existence time is far longer than any human life itself, and longer than a single person. Countries and civilizations come in the long run.

In addition, his Grand Duchy was placed under the control of the empire, and Feiyandi was also watching with eager eyes.

Once a war breaks out, your own territory will become the center of the war, and it is inevitable that all life will be destroyed. Even if it is turned into a wasteland, it is not unexpected.

This desperate situation made Archduke Thorin determined.

[If my people can’t live a happy life above the ground, then it’s better for them all to go to hell]

[At least in hell, there will no longer be such a war]

Seeing that Ian had indeed guessed the ultimate goal of the Dead King's plan, Archduke Thorin showed a nostalgic smile - for many years, since that man left, no one has ever been able to understand his will, his wisdom and plans.

No one can even guess the real intention of the dead king.

Lord of the Dead, Lord of Hades, Lord of Hell, Judge of all the dead... and Protector.

The Star Prison is destined to be unstoppable. Even if Inaga II has not died and has lived to this day, he still cannot stop the Star Prison blockade that is five light years away.

That is a barrier with a radius of five light years... Just to reach this barrier requires the gathering of technical personnel from various countries to develop a minimum 'warp engine'!

And what if it is developed? Practicality is a hurdle. Even if a specially equipped machine is really passed, how many people can it bring?

The Star Prison is closing, and its cracks that were shattered due to unknown reasons are irreversibly re-healing.

In this way, as long as you leave the Terra Star Territory... you will never be able to return.

In that case, rather than escaping from the Star Prison... it would be better to say that he had exiled himself into the void.

A bigger cage with no way out.

The cage called the universe.

At the end of the day...it's still just a tombstone.

At this moment, Grand Duke Thorin softly recited the ancient mythological hymn of Terra: [At the beginning of the world, the Heavenly Father walked from the light towards the ladder of nothingness]

[The first level of the ladder is called the movement of all things. The human body, the clouds in the sky, the soil on the earth, the running of water, the stirring of wind, and the burning of fire are the foundation of phenomena]

[The second level of the ladder is called the condensation of all things, the human soul, the falling stones from the sky, the solid rocks of the earth, the frost and ice of the water, the dust of the wind, and the embers of the fire, which are the essence of things]

[The third level of the ladder is called the brilliance of all things, the wisdom of man, the aurora of the sky, the magma of the earth, the rainfall of water, the rapids of wind, and the flame of fire, which are the cornerstones of existence]

[The fourth level of the ladder is called the authority of all things, human belief, the vastness of the sky, the stability of the earth, the infiltration of water, the interaction of wind, and the urging of fire, which are the source of the truth]

[Heavenly Father took four steps and it was done. The actions, souls, foundations and origins of all things are already there. Anyone can understand the supreme truth from it, sublimate and improve themselves]

[But He saw that this world was still not good enough, so He took another three steps and bestowed three more layers of grace on all living beings]

The silver-eyed Death River Arms looked at Ian, who was deep in thought, and at the other side, Adlbert, who clenched his fists.

He said softly: [Those are the fifth-level ladder, ‘The Top of Steel’, the sixth-level ladder, ‘The High Court of Stars’, and the seventh-level ladder, ‘The Flat of the Distant Land’]

[The creation that represents civilization and wisdom comes from the sky, with fierce fire and strong steel, inspiring all living beings to invent the furnace, and leading all people from the 'Dark Age' to the 'Age of Fire and Steel' - the 'Steel from Beyond the Sky' 】

[The other side hanging at the top of the sky is shining with endless brilliance, leading all living beings to look up and know what is vastness, what is infinity, and what is beyond the sky. It ends the 'era of war' and moves towards the 'era of exploration'. court'】

[As for the last...]

Having said this, Grand Duke Thorin laughed bitterly. He laughed softly at first, but then his laughter became louder and more unrestrained: [The horizon is a line that can never be reached. The extreme that the ancient sages could imagine is It represents the 'distance that can never be reached'. It is the distance that the eyes of the Father and the light of the sun cannot reach, that is, the eternal horizon]

[It is a beautiful wish, wishing that our civilization can move towards eternity, towards the sea of ​​stars beyond the sea of ​​stars, and the infinity on the other side of infinity]

[The civilization of the previous era should have stepped onto the seventh level of the ladder to heaven. They have ended the era of war and are heading towards the stars. They are starting to climb the supreme ladder to heaven.]

[However, the stars went out]

[We are sealed here by the prison of the stars]

【Then...there is no hope anymore】

Ian can understand that in the ancient myth of Terra, this ancient sage borrowed the words of the Heavenly Father to send beautiful blessings to future civilizations.

They used the height of the sky to make judgments and predictions about the degree of civilization, and believed from the bottom of their hearts that future generations would definitely be able to surpass their predictions and go to distant places beyond.

He could understand the optimism and praise contained in this sacred prayer... and the uncontrollable sorrow in Grand Duke Thorin's heart.

——Because there is no distance anymore.

The horizon has an end, and the imagination of all living beings has reached its ultimate limit.

The Star Prison Prison five light years away has wiped out all illusions and expectations about the Star Sea.

There are no stars and no future.

this world……

Only the top of the mountain remains.

The second half of the Ballads of the Dead appeared in the boy's mind.

A great sadness suddenly arose in Ian's heart. He closed his eyes tightly and chanted slowly: "We will stare at you, all those who are destined to die but are not dead..."

"We will not receive mercy and salvation."

"Just like... you]

Ian and Archduke Thorin said the last line of the ballad at the same time, and then fell into silence at the same time.

They felt the same emotions.

——Yes, yes.

If we say that in Archduke Thorin's plan, the world that will be created by the dead king who sinks to the center of the earth, and the dead souls in the dead king's body, is the so-called "hell".

So, is this hell born in the heart of the endless depths a new cage?

The blood, tears, corpses, lamentations and pain of the dead souls turned into the hell in the center of the earth. They were indeed imprisoned by the sin and despair of this world in a cage with no exit, and in a hell of fire with no redemption.

They are dead, but they will sink into hell for eternity.

But Ian, and all the sentient beings still living in this world...all destined to die but not yet dead.

How is it different from them?

"It's all the same... We who are wrapped up in the prison of Prisoner's Star, aren't we just being imprisoned in place by this eternal cage with no exit?"

Ian closed his eyes.

There is no redemption, no mercy.

Whether living or dead.

An emperor or a beggar.

Be it an ascendant or an ordinary person.

In this dark night without stars, in this world without distance.

Everything... is the same.