Chapter 41 Hiltina’s Canaan
“So that’s how it is—”
“Being able to leave such a remote place, relying on self-study to come out of the mountains and arrive at the Royal City, is indeed no easy task.”
After listening to Rast’s explanation, Isda’s voice carried a bit more sympathy.
As the only daughter of the Yulian Family, she had lived in the Royal City of the Granwill Empire—”City of Summer Flowers” Pros—since childhood.
And as the most prosperous city in the entire Granwill Empire, things such as air conditioning, cars, smartphones, and power networks were merely the most basic daily necessities for her.
She could hardly imagine what kind of life Rast would lead in such a poor and rural area.
However, it is precisely those who come from such simple places who can avoid the corrupt atmosphere of the nobility in a big city and possess a pure heart that even the “Eye of Secrets” cannot touch.
Isda sighed in her heart and then began to explain to Rast.
“The ‘Dusk Calamity’ is a disaster that appears sporadically around the world, coming without warning or reason, as if it simply descends from thin air.”
“Moreover, the types of Dusk Calamities vary greatly—tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, plagues, beast disasters… they seem completely unrelated.”
“But that’s only from the perspective of ordinary people…”
Isda’s words became slightly heavier, her gaze losing the previous softness and growing more serious.
“According to the laws of the Granwill Empire, disclosing information about the Dusk Calamity to the uninformed must bear the responsibility of leaking secrets.”
“However, you are a Night Traveler yourself, and you have already passed the preliminary review by the school. It is likely you will soon complete your freshman registration at Starry University, so what I say now is not a violation of confidentiality regulations.”
Isda paused for a moment and then spoke again: “In fact, through verification by Starry University—”
“The birth of the ‘Dusk Calamity’ has a direct correlation to the Night World.”
“Similar to the unpredictable emergence of the ‘Dusk Calamity’, the entrances to the Night World also appear sporadically across the continent.”
“And the different entrances to the Night World, along with the Resonances of the Night within, correspond to segments of lost history that were not recorded in modern historical texts before the ‘Pale Era.'”
“Since you are already a Night Traveler, you must have encountered the remnants of history before…”
Isda looked at Rast: “Have you noticed that each Night World Resonance actually shares similar characteristics in its historical background?”
“Similar characteristics?”
Although Rast had only experienced the Night Resonance at Deep Blue Harbor, he quickly found the answer, relying on his memories from his previous life.
“You mean, the historical background of each Night Resonance… includes some kind of great crisis, conflict, or disaster?”
This was a logical inference.
In the design document for the “Past Shadows” DLC of “Snow Moon Emblem”, the Night World was a place for players to team up and tackle dungeons, extending gameplay hours.
And since it was indeed a dungeon, there would naturally need to be a goal to clear it, or an ultimate boss to defeat.
In other words, if the historical backgrounds of the Night World Resonances entered by the Night Travelers all depicted a time of prosperity and peace where people thrive and live in harmony—
Then the Night World would not be the forbidden land with a high mortality rate that only madmen and obsessives would enter, as described by Hiltina, but rather a new land flowing with milk and honey and paved with gold.
“That’s right.”
Isda nodded.
“According to the latest conclusions drawn by the ‘Ruins Institute’ at Starry University, which is responsible for collecting and analyzing information about the Night World—”
“When an entrance to the Night World opens, accompanied by Night Travelers entering this Night Resonance and investigating this lost history, exploring and repeatedly clearing the resonance…”
“The power of this entrance and this segment of historical resonance will gradually weaken… until the resonance is completely explored, and the passage to the contemporary Night World will also disappear. This signifies that we have fully cleared a Night World.”
“And if the Night Travelers’ exploration is insufficient and the progress doesn’t meet the required conditions after reaching a certain time limit…”
“Then this entrance to the Night World will evolve into a ‘Calamity Resonance.'”
At this point, a flicker of unease crossed Isda’s eyes.
“The emergence of a ‘Calamity Resonance’ means the commencement of a countdown.”
“Compared to the regular historical resonance, the difficulty of clearing a ‘Calamity Resonance’ will increase significantly, and correspondingly, some normal restrictions will be lifted.”
“And if the countdown reaches zero and the ‘Calamity Resonance’ has still not been cleared…”
Rast already guessed what Isda was about to say.
“In the Night World, the calamities faced by that lost history—”
“Will truly manifest in reality.”
“That is, the so-called ‘Dusk Calamity.'”
…
Outside the psychological measuring room, the long corridor had come to an end.
Isda pushed open the large door at the end of the corridor, and bright sunlight immediately flooded their sight.
This seemed to be an area on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by many makeshift camps and constructions built with steel reinforcement, with people wearing the Starry University emblem coming and going.
It must be morning.
The sky was clear and bright, with no clouds in sight, and a gentle breeze occasionally brushed against their faces.
Rast paused at the door, quietly watching the new world he had entered for the first time.
It was undoubtedly a beautiful and peaceful world, starkly different from the suffocating air of Deep Blue Harbor.
The fresh air and the morning breeze reminded Rast of Canaan.
It was precisely because he had that idyllic “Canaan” that he had persevered through the despairing cycles of Deep Blue Harbor—
And the same could be said for Hiltina.
It was because she had a mental refuge that Hiltina could walk time and again through the remnants of the Night World’s past, associating with madness, despair, and pollution, yet remained so strong and radiant.
And if the Iron Cross Plague of Deep Blue Harbor were to descend into reality in the form of a “Dusk Calamity,” transforming Canaan and half the continent’s humanity into tormenting beasts…
That scene was enough to send shivers down one’s spine just by thinking about it.
Thus, even facing countless dire situations with certain d*ath, Hiltina would never waver or give up…
Because behind Hiltina lay her own “Canaan.”
(End of Chapter)
