High Above

"The Demon of the End..."

After finally hearing the most important words, Ian shook his head and calmed himself down: "Life living in the event horizon? It's incredible..."

The final star is the black hole.

At the end of a massive star's life, the power of its own nuclear fusion will be unable to resist its own gravity, causing most of its material to collapse inward, causing a supernova explosion and forming a black hole at its core.

The black hole contains most of the mass of the star, and with the black hole as the origin, its Schwarzschild radius will form a 'layer' isolated from the outside universe, which is the event horizon.

Even light will be completely unable to escape once it enters the event horizon.

For beings like the incarnation of light and star gods, apart from self-chosen death, only black holes can bring them to an end in the conventional sense.

In short, from a common sense point of view, any existence within the event horizon cannot have any impact on any existence outside the event horizon. The inside and outside of the black hole event horizon are basically two universes.

Not even 'prophets' can predict things within the event horizon; they cannot be observed, let alone predicted.

However, ‘true ether’ does not follow common sense.

As a cosmic-level civilization, star gods that surpass the speed of light and time, their creation "true ether" transcends the gravity and event horizon of black holes and penetrates deep into the interior of black holes.

And then...disaster happened.

"What exactly is the Demon of Finality?"

Ian asked. He couldn't contain his curiosity and couldn't help but say: "The event horizon of a massive star is only a few kilometers - of course it is not impossible to have more than ten kilometers or dozens of kilometers. The super-large river system The Schwarzschild radius of a massive black hole may even be larger than the orbits of some planets."

"It's just that, generally speaking, this space is very, very small...how can life exist?" Ian wondered.

【have no idea】

And Echo's answer is very simple: [Your question is very good, but there is no answer in my memory]

"What?"

Ian was shocked: "You even know the birth and origin of Star God - but you don't know about Star God's biggest enemy!?"

[The birth of the Star God and the origin of all living beings are inherent in the Soul of the Source, and the Gift of the Star God contains these memories]

Echo said lightly: [As for the demons of the end, so far, no one, whether it is the Star God or other civilizations, can understand what they are... are they life or a natural phenomenon? Is it a natural disaster or malicious destruction? I can’t figure it out, I only know that the Demon of Ending will not move in a direction without light and gravity, I don’t know anything else]

-The echo hides something.

Ian sensed the other party's concealment, but it was not about the Demon of Finality, but about the Star God's Gift... As a reward for the pioneers, even if the Star God's own origin was described in the Star God's Gift, Not surprising, but never in such detail!

But this question has to give way to the final demon: "But there must be some phenomenon - what phenomenon does it create that makes all living beings call it 'demon'?"

【They destroyed physics】

Echo said: [It is as if the laws of physics do not exist in them at all. Whether it is weapons or observation equipment, they will be destroyed as soon as they get close. The laser will turn irregularly and randomly, like a snake crawling, and finally collapse completely; the artillery shells will Transform and then suddenly disappear; using space strikes will burn the weapon itself. The data tells us that we are doing work on the entire universe, just like trying to exhale through a straw, blow away an ocean of water, or scoop water out of a cup. Cut off the long river of waves]

[But this is just the most harmless thing about them - when these monsters climb out of the black hole, they begin to spread at the speed of light, extinguishing the surrounding stars]

[In the beginning, just a few years later, the surrounding stars suddenly collapsed and turned into black holes... then more stars in a larger range... and finally the speed of light]

[As if in the blink of an eye, a cantilever of the original stricken galaxy was swallowed up, and all the stars turned into black holes. Only twenty-eight years had passed since they were released]

The illusion in front of him began to change. An originally bright four-cantilevered river system suddenly dimmed. It was a dark gap composed of a large number of irregular circles. All the light was swallowed up and disappeared completely.

Another year has passed, and half of the Milky Way has been swallowed up.

Then... the entire river system disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.

This is the cosmic natural disaster [the final abyss]

A dark rift across the universe.

Ian was silent.

He felt shuddering at the moment.

There are hundreds of billions of stars in a river system. Under the influence of the Star God, more than 100 million of them may be able to give birth to basic life, and the civilization on 10,000 stars can develop to the civilization stage... They all Being able to look up at the stars.

But within thirty years, the entire river system had disappeared.

Hundreds of billions of stars went out like this.

It's like it never existed.

"The biggest fear... is the unknown..." the young man murmured to himself: "Nothing can be understood, a monster crawling out of the event horizon of the abyss of the universe where nothing is known."

"Originally they existed in eternal silence in that incredible hell, but the power of true ether throughout infinite time and space guided them out..."

"The Star Gods released these monsters, so they want to defeat these monsters or stop this natural disaster..."

[In the cosmic space swallowed by the abyss, even the pi will change... sometimes it is 3.5, sometimes it is 4, sometimes it is other transcendental numbers]

Echo said lightly: [Even the Pythagorean Theorem will be biased... let alone those sophisticated instruments and weapons. Only the most powerful civilizations can follow the Star God to fight against the Demon of Finality]

"But the Star God lost."

On the contrary, Ian calmed down: "I understand what you want to do."

"In your opinion, after the failure of the Star God, all the densely populated places in the universe will turn into black holes... even in the Star Prison."

[That is not the Star Prison, its real name is the Cradle of Silence] Echo denied Ian's name: [The Star God is not only fighting against the Demon of Finality, but also working hard to protect all weak civilizations]

[The Cradle of Silence is such a project. It can 'camouflage' a galaxy into darkness, as if there are no stars... It is a fortress and a high wall built by the Star God to protect us! 】

"It's all the same, no matter the name." Ian interrupted Echo's words. He looked at the dark golden soul and said word by word: "You have to run away."

"You have to escape to the 'big hollow area' where there are no stars!"

Large void regions refer to holes in the structure of the universe.

From a macro perspective, all the galaxy clusters and even larger structures composed of stars in the universe look like a network.

The network cable is a material belt made of matter, and the place without matter is a void. In the void, let alone matter and light, there may not even be radiation. And this void can occasionally be very huge, with a diameter that may exceed hundreds of millions or even dozens. Billions of light years.

"The Final Demons do not advance toward meaningless void zones. Their goal is to turn stars into black holes."

Ian whispered: "The Star Prison, or the Cradle of Tranquility... no matter what it is, in short, when it is built, our galaxy will be protected and cannot be entered or exited."

"But the cradle of our galaxy is shattered."

The cracks in the Prison Star Prison.

At this moment, Ian really wanted to laugh - yes, he had been wondering in the Awak Laboratory a long time ago. If the Star Prison Prison mentioned by Archduke Thorin was really a prison, wouldn't it be a bit worth the loss? A super giant prison with a radius of five light years. The cost of building this thing itself is far greater than the energy that can be provided by burning all the matter in a galaxy, right?

This thing is more of a protection than a ban. Only a star god who has mastered infinite power can build such a cradle without any expense.

To preserve the fire.

Yes. Upon hearing this, Ian already understood that Terra was the place chosen to preserve fire... The fire originating from thousands of civilizations was continuously sent to Terra.

The Star God back then may have valued Terra's stability, so he set up the cradle here.

Therefore, after Terra's top executives learned about this news, they did not develop super-light spacecraft technology... Does it make sense?

When the cradle is closed, everything is limited to five light years, and the outer universe is no longer a vast sea full of treasures and opportunities, but an extremely dangerous battlefield for super civilizations.

Even if the C'tan had not yet been defeated at that time, there was no way the Terrans would think it was a good idea to go out and run around.

And now...

There was a gap in the cradle.

When all the surrounding stars became pitch black, only the direction of Terra still shone with light occasionally.

It was like bleeding in a forest full of monsters, luring the beasts to hunt them.

That's why Echo wanted to escape.

And he ran away to the big hollow area.

[The large void area closest to our Terra galaxy has a radius of more than 2 billion light years. As long as I enter it, the demons of the end will not chase me. Even if their power spreads at the speed of light, I can still hide for at least 20 billions of years]

At this moment, Echo looked around at the battlefield.

The swarms of insects and spiritual disaster soldiers led by the Ultimate Dragon and Titan Soldier were still on par with the Dark Gold Dragon led by Echo and the war machines of the pre-era civilization... But originally, it was Ian who had the upper hand.

But because Ian's mind was shaken and distracted by these ancient truths, it was a tie this time... and even Echo had a slight upper hand.

This should have been a joy, but the echo calmly seemed to be talking to itself: [Two billion years...enough for a lot of things to happen. If someone can defeat the Demon of Finality, 2 billion years will be enough]

[If the Demon of Finality wants to destroy all intelligent life and even fire in the entire universe, 2 billion years will be enough]

【I can wait】

"You're just running away."

Ian whispered: "Escape is not waiting."

【……You do not understand】

Echo turned his head, looked at Ian deeply, and said with a smile: [The first disaster was caused by the fire from thousands of stars hitting Terra, which made the Star God discover this place in the stable area of ​​remote space-time. River system... To this day, the fire of a thousand stars still lurks under the earth of Terra. When the time comes, it will revive, swallow everything, become a complete fire, and then set off to continue in the darkness forever. running]

[This is the first destruction. The second skyfall disaster was also a natural disaster that destroyed our civilization. It was because the Star God’s fire transport spacecraft was destroyed]

[The reason why it was destroyed was precisely because there was a fragment of the ‘Demon of the End’ banned in the spaceship]

Ian's eyes widened and his pupils vibrated.

Memories flowed rapidly through his mind, and he recalled the dark void that suddenly appeared on the rainbow spaceship!

"That's the sign of being attacked...not from the outside, but from the inside!"

The young man's body swayed and he felt a chill rush up his spine: "Our galaxy... there is even a demon of the end on Terra?!"

[Who knows, if it is the Star Gods, they will definitely try their best to destroy the Demon of Finality. Since they dare to ban it, it means they have certain countermeasures]

In the midst of the wavering, Echo's dark golden army once again suppressed Ian's army, approaching step by step. He said slowly: [But we can't all count on the Star God. They have failed and are dead...]

[But even without the Demon of Finality, Terra will eventually be destroyed if the cradle's protection fails... It may be a hundred years, it may be a thousand years, it may be tomorrow - who knows? Sixteen hundred years have passed since the Skyfall Disaster. Even if you didn't notice it at first, you must have noticed it now, right? 】

[So we must escape Terra, which is no longer safe - even if the cradle repairs itself, Terra's coordinates have been exposed. We must leave Terra before the cradle repairs itself. The faster the better]

[Otherwise, when the cradle is repaired, we will be locked in it, unable to escape or leave, and can only wait for the destruction that will come at some point]

There was no anger, no shouting, no hysteria in the echo. At this moment, He just calmly told the truth that he knew, the desperate truth: [So, the ignorant junior in the future, can you understand my choice now? 】

[In this infinite vast universe, the all-out attack of the Star God civilization can instantly destroy countless galaxies and even the structure of the universe, and even the universe itself will be shaken, and the war between the Star God and the Demon of Finality is a A giant wave roaring in the cosmic sea]

[We are just mayflies in this huge wave. Now the wave is rising. We at the top think we are calm, but when the wave falls and slaps on the sea, we will be completely shattered.]

At this point, Hui Hui even laughed, but there was no joy in the laughter, only pure bitterness and determination: "Too nihilistic, so meaningless." Our civilization has developed for thousands of years and experienced countless disasters and opportunities. The great men, heroes and people among us shed enough blood on the earth to dye all the rivers red, and finally created a great harmonious society where everyone Can realize dreams, so that everyone can live a stable life, have a house, have clothes, and have enough to eat]

【But in reality? Our civilization is just an accident that was born in the short "gap" between the two wars in heaven. It is as small as Mars in the universe. Even if it is valued by the Star God, our civilization is still just dust. All civilizations It’s all just dust]

[Young people of later generations, you simply don’t understand this horror. Countless civilizations, countless races, endless countless lives. They are all dying, destroying, and burning. The stars are dimmed and the galaxies are falling into the sky. Abyss, everything is because of the war between the Star God and the End. The meaningless splash caused by their battle in the universe can destroy dozens of civilizations like ours]

[Whether we work hard to develop technology, or give up everything to spend the rest of our lives; whether we go outside the cradle, or stay inside the "heavenly hell" you call... the result is the same, we can't change anything]

[In front of the universe, we are just dust]

This is the greatest sadness.

All civilizations and all lives will have an illusion since their birth.

——I am the protagonist. I am special.

Such confidence will accompany them as they grow, shaping their self-will, shaping the culture and concepts of civilization, and shaping a common consensus and understanding, allowing civilization and individuals to be confident and grow.

But in fact, it's all lies.

In front of the universe, everything is nothingness and dust.

In front of the Star God and the Demon of Finality, all the matter in the Terra Star Territory may not add up to a single round of 'ammunition'.

This gap is even greater than when an ordinary person faces a fifth-level ascendant.

At this moment, even Ian felt a meaningless sadness.

A person's life may last for decades.

The lament of a civilization that may last thousands of years.

The rise and fall of a race may take tens of thousands of years.

No matter how glorious, no matter how prosperous, no matter how epic, when people die, civilization dies, and genocide occurs, what is left is nothing but nothingness.

It doesn't take thousands of years, just a hundred years, everything will be buried.

Let’s not talk about the grandiose stuff. Just a person.

When a person dies, if he is an ordinary person, he will be forgotten after a few years, and only his relatives will remember him. When relatives are separated by several generations, no one will remember them unless they worship their ancestors.

Even great men will lose their sacrifices, leaving only records in classics. But books also need people. When people die, all stories will end.

nothingness.

No one remembers those lives, no one listens to those tragic songs, and no one sings those stories of rise and fall... This is a forgetfulness that is more terrifying than death.

This is nothingness.

Even the cockroaches wandering in the wasteland will be annihilated. All living creatures and all traces of history are nothingness in the face of the doomed destruction.

When a star turns into a black hole, when the light of the star completely disappears, even if the planet is not destroyed by a possible supernova explosion, everything on it will become meaningless.

so……

"Only there will be fire..."

The white-haired boy said in a trembling tone: "The hope of civilization recovery? That is not a goal at all, it is just a hope... It is just a tombstone, just a tombstone used to fight against nothingness..."

"Defeat is inevitable. Facing an enemy that is absolutely unwinnable, facing an outcome that must be defeated, in order to get out of the despair of certain death, the last resistance created by struggling... a tombstone named Fire."

[Yes, you finally understand]

Echo sighed: [This is the decision we made in a very short time after we were born]

[Terra has no hope. No matter how prosperous the new civilization in the post-apocalyptic era develops, it will eventually face destruction. I can only record the information of this era, make it into fire, and then leave]

It's so nihilistic. Too small.

The Terran civilization is caught between a cosmic civilization and a cosmic disaster, and is unable to decide its own destiny... Not to mention, the cosmic civilization with good intentions has disappeared.

At this moment, through the communication channel that linked his soul through the echo, Ian saw many, many things.

He saw the majestic Snake Emperor Dragon descending on Terra, fighting and defeating the major sanctuaries.

He saw giant algae that covered the sky and enchanted all things that fell with the meteorite, and were eventually suppressed in the earth's crust.

He saw a huge Earth Titan roaring and thrown out of the mountain, but it was killed by the strong humans on the shores of the North Sea.

Ian saw many kinds of fire, as well as the super beings bred from the fire.

Some were events that Echo himself knew, some were the memories of people who had merged with Echo afterward, and some were messages input to him by unknown people in later generations... But they all failed because the Terran civilization still existed.

And finally, Ian saw pitch black.

In the ancient Stone Age, the pitch-black tide boiled and swept across the entire continent, completely absorbing all biomass and integrating it into its own body...until the sword of light fell from the sky and sealed it in place.

That is the beast of a thousand stars. The initial spark.

[They failed. The same goes for our civilization, we must survive, no matter what means]

Saying this, Echo strode forward. At this moment, when Ian was shaken by this incredible truth, the dark golden dragon overwhelmed the three-headed Ultimate Dragon, and the huge Battle Titan controlled the rampage. The giant god soldier.

Although the other soldiers are still resisting, after losing the heroic unit, in front of millions of echo bodies, it can only be said that it is meaningless.

The last echo stretched out his hand and pressed it on Ian's forehead. He said solemnly: [So, hand over your gift of the Star God - whether you plan to stay in Terra or go out to explore, it is useless. Meaningful things, why not give them to me and let me lead the fire on its final wandering! 】

The golden light suppressed the silver-green light. At this moment, there was no doubt that it was the final decisive moment, and the last echo had the absolute advantage.

If this battle is one-on-one.

"...What an incredible truth."

Even though Echo pressed his forehead, and the summoned soldiers and road units were suppressed, Ian's tone still seemed to be immersed in the shock of the previous truth: "This truth, even in the whole of Terra, no one else knows it. Well… at most I know part of it.”

"But even a part of it is terrifying enough. Who would be willing to be dust? The prison that imprisons us is actually the cradle of protection? Terra will eventually perish. If you want to avoid it, you can only escape, and there is no escape. You can only go to the big planet Empty area, meaningless waiting..."

Closing his eyes, Ian looked calm. Echo thought the boy had given up, so he tried to attack, but was still blocked by his strong spirit: [What do you mean? 】

"I mean."

Opening his eyes, Ian looked at the angry and puzzled Echo. He said calmly: "Because of this, I must leave the cradle."

"And I will not run away. I will face the Star God or the Demon of the End until I die."

【madman? ! 】

At this moment, Hui Hui was shocked to realize that Ian's will not only did not become as fragile as he imagined, but instead became firmer after being shaken: [You clearly know that this is completely meaningless, you will just die, Maybe he has disappeared without even knowing it! 】

"You don't understand at all." At this moment, the cyan light in the eyes of the white-haired boy became more intense: "What is nothingness, what is meaningless, it seems that human beings can be immortal... human civilization is originally In other words, something like that might self-destruct in a few thousand years. It’s just dust after all, so why are you so afraid of death?”

"There are some things that you have to do even if you know you will fail. That's courage!"

It's like burning it with a fierce fire, or forging it with a hammer, and the impurities in the original metal are hammered out.

Under the bombardment of the truth and the torture of nothingness, Ian's will, which was more or less doubtful because he didn't know the truth, is now as strong as refined steel.

Become tougher, crazy and determined!

The golden soul was stunned. In this aspect, He really lost! A complete loss!

At this time, Echo's fingers were like sharp claws, piercing the flesh and blood on the head, leaving blood continuously, but Ian showed a cheerful smile, and laughed loudly: "I thought it was something big, but it turned out to be just a trivial matter. The destruction of civilization is just one death in the end - Echo, the forerunners said that you have deteriorated seriously, and now it seems that is indeed the case!"

"You, a group of information beings with theoretically unlimited lifespans, simply don't understand the human spirit... Self-exile is death, staying in Terra until the Demon of Ending arrives is death, and the beast of a thousand stars awakens is death. It's possible. The resurrection of the Demon of Ending on the spaceship that fell from the sky is death, and even the fifth-level civil war and the destruction of human civilization are death—"

"Since it's all about death, why not die on the way to explore the secrets of the Star God and the truth about the Demon of Ending?"

"Since it's all about death, why not die on the journey to a distant place?!"

"Since everything is forgotten and meaningless, then why do we have to run away and wait instead of taking action, struggling, surviving, and trying our best to knock out a spark from the irresistible enemy?"

"As long as He looks at me, I win!"

[Phew - you are really 10,000 times crazier than me! 】

Until now, how could Hui Sheng still not understand that he had really misjudged the distortion, madness and madness of the person in front of him? Ian can even say this, God knows what else he can't do!

But the good thing is that the truths he threw out really shook Ian - so in the battle of souls, he now has an absolute advantage!

【Just resist! ] He said in a deep voice: [No matter how sublime your will is, as long as you are linked by my direct physical advantage, your soul will be completely assimilated by me in half an hour - at that time, you will also become our echo. A member of the world, along with the gift of the Star God in your body! 】

"Half an hour? It's too slow!"

And Ian sneered: "Guess why I listen to you talking so much? You don't really think that I will commit suicide to know the truth, do you? This is because the silver chip tells me that my friend is approaching me quickly—— Yes, I will indeed lose my cool because of the truth, and I will be shaken by knowing more unknown and incredible truths."

"I will risk my life for your truth, even to the point of losing my own advantages... This is my character flaw, but don't you have it?"

At this moment, the rapid footsteps of two people sounded in the extremely cold Ice Dragon's Nest.

Both Ian and Echo heard the two footsteps. Ian's smile became brighter, while Echo's face became gloomier. The young man smiled heartily: "You will only assimilate other lives, right? You All the echoes are fighting me, this is your full strength...and I have indeed used my personal full strength to fight against you, and now I am at a disadvantage."

"However, a person's strength definitely does not all come from himself, but also from his friends and interpersonal relationships!"

——Ian, are you okay? !

——Wait a minute, Xio, he is connected to the dragon's reverse scale port... They are engaged in a soul battle!

Such a voice could be vaguely heard. When Hui Hui's face turned as dark as water, Ian laughed loudly: "I have many friends, but you have none!"

"Echo, this is your character flaw!"