Chapter 170: As the Future of Humanity, You Are Unqualified (Two-in-One)
In the Sea of Darkness, the center of that brilliant sun.
Amidst the twisted and accelerated flow of time, after an indeterminate period of chaos.
That brightness, so bright it was indescribable, illuminating the entire sea and night sky as if it were daylight, visible even from a great distance —
At this moment, it finally began to slowly fade.
All the matter that once constituted that giant star was ejected outward at one-tenth the speed of light, carrying the radiation shockwaves of the explosion, forming a shell-like structure composed of expanding gas and dust in the surrounding sea.
This is a magnificent planetary nebula.
It can simply be referred to as — “Supernova Remnants.”
However, at the center of that supernova remnant, where everything should have been obliterated by the flowing brilliance, leaving no living beings behind,
a layer of distorted ripples suddenly spread.
Though faint, it carried an immeasurable distance and an immensely ancient historical resonance.
Those were the ripples of history, making the listener feel as if they had experienced tens of thousands of years of evolution in the blink of an eye, countless eras and periods of change.
Then, amidst the historical ripples, a verdant phantom silhouette quietly emerged.
It was Noah’s form, appearing infinitely ethereal, covered in various cracked patterns, standing at the edge of flickering existence.
Yet he was still alive.
“I must say, you have once again exceeded my expectations, Cecil.”
“Since that battle where the Fire Stealer betrayed the Gravekeeper, it’s my first time witnessing such great power.”
“This skill, you call it ‘Supernova Explosion’… although I don’t know its specific principles, the power displayed earlier is already enough to rival a true Divine Descent.”
“Don’t even mention ordinary Forbidden Beasts; even deities at their peak would suffer significant injuries if they faced the might of that brilliance head-on.”
“To genuinely touch the realm of the divine with a legendary body… even among all past Guardians, only you and the first have achieved such a feat.”
Noah slowly examined his own body, his aged eyes still showing hints of uncertainty and hesitation.
Even the bloodline refined to be indistinguishable from pure-blooded dragons, and the legendary Iron Cross King… were obliterated into white dust by the earlier cataclysmic supernova explosion without even a shred of resistance.
Let alone Noah himself.
With his eternal life, Noah had indeed accumulated more in the legendary realm than other Forbidden Beasts.
But as a human legend of the “Avatar of Abundance” sequence, when it came to pure physical strength and the resilience against the indiscriminate killing of the supernova explosion, how could he possibly compare with a true ancient dragon or the Iron Cross King who had undergone fleshly mutations?
In that previous supernova explosion, Noah had truly died once, tasting the flavor of d*ath.
“Too bad — you ultimately overlooked one point.”
He scanned the distant sea, where the wind carried away the snow-white ashes, his words devoid of any emotional ripples.
“I am not like those who fight alone; though they have reached legend, they are fundamentally just beasts.”
“Behind me stands the entire Gravekeeper and the accumulation of ancient ages.”
“However powerful or magnificent an attack skill that can annihilate the cosmos—”
“Its effectiveness lasts only once; it cannot endure for long.”
Noah looked at his own body, filled with cracks and appeared immensely ethereal, before finally redirecting his gaze.
He looked into the depths of the Sea of Darkness, the origin of that intensely hot supernova explosion just moments ago.
In the black sea, there were metallic fragments left behind from the elements spewing out during the collapse of stars, still carrying a residual heat of radiation, exhibiting a silvery-blue fluorescence.
In the surrounding sea, these glowing fragments floated, twinkling like stars on the surface of the water, contrasting against the dull background.
The heavens that served as the curtain were pure black, but the sea seemed to ripple like a flowing galaxy, a scene that was breathtakingly beautiful, resembling an inverted Milky Way.
And Cecil stood at the end of this resplendent galaxy, submerged in waist-deep water, his body so old it was nearly weathered to nothing, with only the mental power from his legendary status allowing him to feel a faint remaining thread of life energy, affirming that he had not yet completely perished.
This was the inevitable result of overloading “Life Cycle” to unleash “Supernova Explosion.”
The supernova explosion is the final song of a star’s life cycle, and Cecil’s price for igniting it was to accelerate his originally long lifespan to the verge of d*ath.
“I suppose you feel quite regretful, Cecil.”
Noah looked at the elderly man at the end of the galaxy, who seemed already dead yet still unwilling to fall, expressing sincere emotion.
“Even one who sacrifices everything and explodes at any cost can only k*ll me once.”
He gently stroked the grave pattern woven with golden threads on his pure white robe: “But even in d*ath, I can still return from the river of history using the power of the ‘Tombstone.'”
Just as past leaders of the Guardians possessed the “Library of Fools” as their ultimate trump card.
Though the Gravekeepers were robbed of that Flame Seed, with their accumulation from the Age of Gods to the present, how could they possibly have only the “Library of Fools” as their foundation?
“The Tombstone.”
Or rather, its full name — “Eternal Night Monument.”
This is a final foundation of the Gravekeepers that ranks higher than the “Library of Fools,” and the true origin of the name “Gravekeeper.”
As long as one’s life origin imprint is engraved upon the tombstone, even if one has died in reality, they can still return across the long river of history using the life origin imprint left on the tombstone.
Of course, such resurrection must come at a great cost, either through a long slumber or extended recovery time to fully restore one’s state.
Yet despite this, the existence of the “Tombstone” means that every legend among the Gravekeepers has nearly infinite opportunities for trial and error.
This was what Noah referred to when he enticed Rast with the notion of that so-called “Eternal Immortality.”
Even in d*ath, one can return from the river of history… This conceptual capability is already not far from true “Eternity.”
This is also Noah’s greatest confidence in descending into the mortal world.
While cutting off half of his mental power to create a legendary avatar, he was still able, despite his original body having died once, to return from history with the help of the Eternal Night Monument, barely maintaining his legendary status preemptively despite being weakened.
Had it not been for such a trump card, how could he dare to plan a hunt against the owner of the Library of Fools all alone without companion support?
Boom —
Emerald green light erupted.
The huge yet somewhat illusory ancient wood reappeared again, and then countless emerald lights transformed into branches and vines, ruthlessly sweeping toward the direction where Cecil stood.
Though Noah had undergone a rebirth by utilizing the tombstone, his powers had significantly diminished, requiring a long period of rest and recovery to return to his peak state.
However, Cecil’s current physical condition was even worse; his body aged to the brink of d*ath made standing difficult.
And then, with no hindrance whatsoever.
Countless branches and vines pierced through Cecil’s frail elderly body, penetrating, cutting, and locking down all his joints and muscles.
After completing all this, Noah finally halted his movements.
The earlier inexplicable descent in the Abyss that destroyed his Avatar of Abundance, as well as Cecil’s earlier supernova explosion, made him a bit wary, suffering from a slight PTSD.
Noah was genuinely concerned that even in this depleted state, Cecil might still conjure up some mischief.
Only by completely severing all of the other’s capabilities at this moment could he find true peace of mind.
However, looking at Noah, who had literally gone through a rebirth, and now faced the severely weakened Cecil, the latter suddenly smiled weakly.
Clearly, making the gesture of “smiling” was a considerable strain on Cecil’s frail body, but the mirth in his words bore no hint of falsehood:
“It seems… I was indeed underestimated.”
“Every Gravekeeper who has engraved their soul imprint upon the Eternal Night Monument can, through the power of the tombstone, return from the distant river of history.”
“This secret was discovered long ago when the first Fire Stealer betrayed the Gravekeepers.”
“Though that initial goal of the first Guardian has long been buried in that battle of Fire Theft… the mysteries he glimpsed, all the information regarding the ‘Gravekeepers’ exchanged for his life, have been recorded in the Library of Fools and passed down to this day.”
A hint of a smile emerged on Cecil’s face, which was etched with wrinkles and ravines, exuberantly bold: “As long as the imprint engraved on the tombstone remains intact, even in d*ath one can return from history…”
“This indeed is a very unfair ability, unjust to the point of nearly being unsolvable… We Guardians have only one life; one failure leads to eternal damnation, while you can fail countless times and start over.”
“If the war between the Guardians and the Gravekeepers is a game designed by humans, the designer must have a flawed mind; there’s simply no balance between the opposing sides.”
“However—”
“No matter how unfair the rules, no matter how unsolvable the deadlock… when I have spent my entire lifetime researching, pondering this deadlock in countless starless nights, looking for a solution.”
“How could I, after nearly a thousand years, possibly… stagnate like you trash?”
Though his body was no different from the withered bones in a grave, Cecil’s gaze remained calm as water, harboring thunderous power beneath.
“So, high and mighty Gravekeeper.”
“What exactly made you come to this illusion —”
“The earlier supernova explosion was the end of everything?”
Listening to Cecil’s words, Noah’s gaze swept around once more.
However, across the entire dark sea.
Apart from that galaxy slowly rippling and gathering, composed of countless star core fragments, there was not a single hint of movement.
In Noah’s mental perception as a legend, Cecil’s words, clearly at his wits’ end, could only be described as vague fabrications…
The legendary tier has an unbridgeable upper limit… and the earlier scorching supernova explosion had already drained a legend’s entire strength,
Now at this point of weakness, Cecil found it difficult to move even a little, while Noah, who had completely grasped the situation, would certainly not give him another opportunity to brew up such a supernova explosion.
Yet, watching Noah, who was cautiously scanning his surroundings but consistently finding nothing, lost in a state of confusion, completely unaware of everything about to unfold,
The sneer on Cecil’s aged face became even more prominent.
“To be honest, in my long life, I have at times wavered and felt confused.”
“I have questioned whether the persistence of the Guardians, akin to moths to a flame, has any meaning, I have asked myself… is what we do courageous or merely reckless.”
“I have thought, perhaps it would be best to bide our time like you Gravekeepers, slowly amassing strength and waiting until the moment is ripe before launching a joint attack…”
“As for the civilizations and humanity extinguished during that period of patience, they were but necessary sacrifices for the greater good.”
“However, now I no longer have such messy thoughts.”
He looked down at Noah, who stood at the edge of the flowing galaxy, with both mockery and, beneath that mockery, a deeper sympathy.
“Long residing at the top makes one prone to lose their original intent… and once a pair of eyes becomes accustomed to darkness, they can no longer tolerate the light.”
“You pride yourselves as the watchers of human civilization, yet the current Gravekeepers are no different from prisoners, accustomed to endurance, accustomed to survival, treating that survival as an insurmountable rule… even going so far as to suppress and erase those who refuse to be confined among their kind.”
“Thus, even with the treasure of the ‘Eternal Night Monument,’ possessing powerful mental capacity, which equates to computational ability, as well as nearly infinite time and lifespan, alongside the countless treasures of knowledge left by lost civilizations… which past scholars and scientists have longed for.”
“Yet across six full eras from the Age of Gods until now, you sit among abundant conditions and limitless riches and still remain stagnant.”
“Thousands of years is enough for humanity to transform from cave-dwelling, bloodthirsty primates into the intelligent lords they are today… yet you have stagnated for these thousands of years.”
Cecil’s words paused for a moment, the mockery at the corner of his mouth growing thicker.
“So in the future world, even a student with just a bit of knowledge would know what is to come after the ‘supernova explosion’…”
“And you, having lived for thousands of years, are completely oblivious to this, neither knowing nor understanding.”
“Because you have long become accustomed to life in a cage, what you desperately seek is not ‘freedom,’ but merely a change from a ‘small cage’ to a ‘big cage.'”
“As the future of humanity—”
“You are unqualified.”
The shattered words echoed over the Sea of Darkness, along with that silver-blue galaxy.
As if speaking to oneself, yet also resembling judgment on Noah’s fate.
In the next moment, the gently flowing galaxy suddenly accelerated.
Countless star core fragments, still bearing the residual warmth of radiation, flickered and surged within the galaxy, rolling in silver waves.
Millions of tons of seawater began to swirl slowly, revolving towards the remnants of the star core deep in the ocean, which had released all its energy and was slowly cooling.
When the most brilliant performance in a star’s life came to a close, the light and heat of the “supernova explosion” cooled in the depths of the universe.
In those once again cold and lifeless remnants of the star core—
What was brewed.
Naturally, it could only be the most profound “Black Hole.”
(End of Chapter)
