novelbest Chapter 2106 - 52: The Endless Shattered Tree
Chapter 2106 - 52: The Endless Shattered Tree
——In the end, I am a simple person.
Water, bread, books, and a wooden bed.
A castle covered in white snow, a nation whose end is visible at a glance, my descendants who are just like me.
Whether it’s ideals or desires, I am a simple person.
A simple person doesn’t worry, nor hesitate or fret.
A simple person remains consistent, presses forward firmly, never lost.
The simplest things are the most resilient, just like complex and prosperous civilizations that gradually vanish due to the lack of seemingly tiny, real conditions, while simple microorganisms have persisted from ancient times to the present. From the perspective of existence, humans as a species are quite a failure.
Of course, scholars always object. They always deny my and my ancestors’ thoughts on ’the future’ and ’continuance.’ They always say that humans should continue to live as humans.
They even say that humans should accept extinction in a human manner, accept being ’destined to die.’
A brief life burns gloriously... Only in this way can humans retain their dignity.
Ignorant, fragile, and conservative, thoughts akin to cowardice. Yet my ancestors generously gave these scholars the opportunity to persuade him, again and again.
But a millennium has passed.
This group of Terra scholars still lacks a clear definition.
——Defining what humans should ultimately be like.
[Ian Silverpeak... the human closest to the Star God]
[The human farthest from humans]
[The human walking to the end of the human Dao]
In the deepest part of the Steep Ridge Fortress palace, as Aether surges and thunder spreads, dark golden eyes gradually light up on the head, the carapace raises its neck, staring at the slowly opening The Gate at the front of the hall: [Can you give me the answer?]
[About the path forward, about the future, about the path humans should take]
[About... the meaning of eternity?]
Unfortunately.
The one who came was not Ian Silverpeak.
Coincidentally.
The one who came was not Ian Silverpeak.
As the metal humanoid resembling Ian Silverpeak, yet claiming to be ’Heart of Terra,’ walked into the Steep Ridge Fortress hall, the lights gradually lit up, illuminating this ancient fortress with a history of over six hundred years.
And right after, Aina, who followed through The Gate, gasped.
As one of the most secluded countries on the Terra Continent, the palace of the rulers of Steep Ridge Fortress has always been the subject of speculation by Ballad Poets.
In the Northern Territory of the Empire, where they have been confronting for years, people believe the hall of Steep Ridge Fortress is full of steel weapons, a row of active Armor Suits standing like guardian knights along both sides of the carpet, ready to engage the battlefield as soon as drivers enter.
Yet neighboring Holy Mountain and Yanjiang have another saying: they believe Steep Ridge Fortress is full of various steel automata, those metal humanoids controlled by thunder would loyally obey every command of their master, executing each task accurately, never betraying and never aging, as the last line of defense for Elster.
People always have all kinds of whims, all kinds of romantic or bizarre or strange imaginations... People always think that, aside from the Apocalypse Armament they hold, the rulers of Steep Ridge Fortress against the Empire army must have many mystical aspects.
They should be associated with ’iron,’ ’Armor Suits,’ and ’robots’ and these inherent stereotypes.
But now, a member of the Empire of Setar’s royal family has arrived at their so-called ’rebellious’ hall.
He does not feel excited about this.
Only feels apprehensive.
Because on the wide hall’s two sides, there is neither Armor Suits nor automata.
But a museum.
A museum of humanity.
Rows of transparent specimen cabinets stacked upon each other occupy most of the hall’s space, leaving only a blank path leading directly to the grand ducal throne behind the three-layer hall doors.
And within these cabinets that emit faint blue light, the display ranges from primitive ape-men to modern variants, sub-species, and transformation processes of Terra people.
Ape-men, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens, prehistoric Terra people, modern Terra people...
Men and women, young and old, different specimens in preservation fluid... No, it’s not preservation fluid!
Noticing a creature in a cabinet breathing, Aina’s eyes widen in disbelief, shining with pale golden light.
He seriously scans everything before him, then shockingly realizes, these cabinets are not what he initially imagined as ’specimen cabinets’... but ’cultivation chambers’!
The organisms in these cabinets, whether ape-men or Homo sapiens, prehistoric Terra people or modern Terra people with notably murkier Bloodlines, are all alive!
No matter male or female, young or old, the translucent blue cultivation chambers resemble walls made of crystal and flesh, silently standing to one side.
They breathe, create bubbles, limbs tremble slightly, their chests and bellies contracting and expanding, evidently living beings, not dead specimens.
Yet, for some reason, Aina cannot sense ’consciousness’ or ’soul.’
These bodies are clearly alive, yet impart a feeling of ’flesh and blood aggregates.’
Moreover, the closer forward one moves, the more bizarre the human forms become—some exhibit traits similar to dragons, others show features of various Bloodline True Forms.
This is actually still acceptable because by the time reaching the second hall door, it’s uncertain whether the organisms in the cultivation chambers can still be considered people: the human carapace begins to swell, limbs atrophy and degenerate, skin and muscles all turn into nearly translucent jellies, you can even see the internal organs beneath the flesh and fat.