# Chapter 3: Passing the Flame and Extinguishing the Flame (7000)
"...Regardless of all this, Lord Inquisitor, what meaning does all that you've said have?"
In response to the old man of the Ash Church, Inquisitor Glorn's rather inflammatory words, Alpha was silent for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head: "In the end, I'm just a fool who couldn't even see through your trap, and now I'm in your hands—you can say whatever you want, black or white, and I can't say no, can I?"
After saying this, Alpha sighed inwardly—the Ash Church hadn't captured him before because they needed him to find this 'Crystal Obelisk', and now that their goal was achieved, did his existence still have value? Could the safety of his wife and children still be guaranteed? To be honest, there was absolutely no guarantee. Although the Ash Church was a well-known orthodox organization throughout the entire Shining Region, they were hardly benevolent people.
"Do you think your usefulness ends here?"
But Glorn looked at him with a half-smile: "Scholar Alpha, don't underestimate your own value—do you think just anyone can easily traverse the distant Twilight Zone, arrive at the Lightless Belt as if guided by fate, encounter no Chaos Monsters on the way to their destination, and finally cross all the security measures of this Crystal Obelisk without any risk to reach the deepest part of this prehistoric ruin?"
"Do you think ordinary people could give birth to children with talents as extraordinary as your daughter and son?"
Hearing this, Alpha immediately raised his head, his eyes fixed intently on the old man before him, his gaze almost terrifying.
But Glorn was unperturbed. He shook his head at the surrounding guards, signaling that they didn't need to stay and guard, but instead should explore the corners of the hall—after the guards left, the white-haired Inquisitor gestured for Alpha to follow him, then strode toward the center of the hall.
Although he wished he could kill Glorn and his entire family with one slash, Alpha desperately wanted to know about his daughter and son, so he could only follow. Glorn was well aware of this, so he said without turning back: "Rest assured, Scholar Alpha, your daughter, son, and wife are all doing well. In fact, their living conditions in the Ash Church are far better than what you could provide in the Capital of Knowledge. After all, we need your daughter's power to move the stars."
"Move... the stars?!"
When he heard this, countless thoughts flashed through Alpha's mind—the large-scale disappearance of stars in the Twilight Zone, the ever-expanding Lightless Belt, the ultimate goal of the Ash Church, and the purpose of his teacher and others—but in the end, thousands of words condensed into one sentence: "What have you done to my daughter?! What moving stars, Siberia she..."
"Siberia·Faerst is just an ordinary little girl—you want to say that, don't you? But you're completely wrong."
Although Glorn appeared elderly, he was after all an Ultimate-rank powerhouse, and even if Alpha was burning with rage, he couldn't defeat him. But Glorn didn't provoke Alpha further; instead, he said directly: "Rest assured, Siberia now holds a status nearly equivalent to a Saint within the Church. No one dares to harm her. As for your son, although he isn't as exceptionally gifted, he is still a Heaven-Blessed One who can adapt to the power of Divine Artifacts. Your wife goes without saying—she doesn't even know your whereabouts, only that you might have gone on a long journey. She's currently happily raising the children, immersed in the joy of their success."
"Then, that hand..."
"We've had perfect cloning technology for forty thousand years—and you didn't even bother to check whether that hand belonged to your child. You wasted our technicians' efforts. You're far too gullible."
Although he didn't know whether the other party was telling the truth or lies, based on Glorn's actions since arriving—never harming him—and his casual tone that didn't seem like deception, Alpha's surging hatred stalled for a moment... Of course, he was also well aware that the other party was using verbal techniques to repeatedly stir up and then dispel his hatred and anger, wearing down his resistance, in order to more easily pry open his mouth afterward. But compared to that, he wanted to know the current situation of his loved ones more.
Unfortunately, Glorn said no more. He simply continued striding toward the center of the hall, then tossed out a sentence.
"You know, Scholar Alpha, there were once gods in this world."
"...That's common knowledge. From fifty thousand years ago to a hundred thousand years ago, that long fifty thousand years was always the Age of the Gods."
Ignoring the 'what nonsense are you spouting' tone in Alpha's voice, Glorn continued: "But fifty thousand years ago, the Age of the Gods abruptly ended—all gods lost their divine power, and naturally, they all perished."
"First, it was the God of War, then the God of Dueling, the God of Murder, and other deities related to combat and slaughter, who were the first to lose their divine power. Then came various regional gods, creator gods—eventually, all deities lost their divine power. At that time, the Ash Church was still the church of different gods, an organization serving the Heavenly Father, so we meticulously recorded the time and order in which each god lost their divine power. From then on, numerous floating cities fell from the sky, turning into ruins and dust."
"Do you understand? In less than five years, all the gods lost their divine power one after another, and our gods had no time to prepare warnings—the temples on the Great Divine Mountain were all abandoned, and the divine power transmission network built around it all disappeared. Our kingdoms were divided by vast distances, our cities were destroyed one after another—the brilliant connections we once had were completely ended because of the departure of divine power and the gods."
When he said this, Glorn's tone was filled with deep regret, but he didn't seem to regret the passing of the gods so much as the decline of the Light-Chaser Civilization: "Our civilization completely contracted from the boundless Twilight Zone back to the Shining Belt... but do you know what we discovered then?"
"The Shining Belt was also shrinking."
At this moment, the two had arrived at the center of the hall. Directly above their heads was the crystal prism containing the sleeping golden-haired youth—and Glorn turned back, meeting Alpha's gaze, which could barely contain its shock and dawning realization. His tone was calm: "In just two hundred years, the area of the Shining Region shrank by one-twentieth, and this rate of shrinkage was accelerating! According to this trend, in less than a thousand years, all Light-Chasers would probably have to live in eternal twilight, or even eternal darkness."
—But fifty thousand years had passed, and the Shining Region still existed.
Thinking of this fact, combined with the other party's mention of 'moving stars', a terrifying possibility surged into Alpha's mind. He met Glorn's gaze, then said slowly: "So, you moved stars from other places... to the Shining Region? Is this how you've been sustaining the Shining Flame..."
"To be precise, it's not us, but the Star Saints."
The white-haired Grand Inquisitor's face was calm. He quietly praised the Heavenly Father, then continued: "In the most desperate times, the founders of the Ash Church discovered that in this dying world, some extremely special children were gradually appearing."
"Them—yes, these special children were almost all girls, though there were no such restrictions among certain Light-Chaser races that could reproduce asexually or had multiple genders. But regardless, these special children all had the ability to bear offspring. And they... they could control the trajectories of stars, and even to some extent control the Steel Earth, accelerating the formation of stars!"
"Strange, isn't it? Don't look so incredulous—this is the truth, and we're not sure how the founders discovered this... In any case, at first, we called these children 'Star Shepherds', or reincarnations of all powerful gods, because their commands could control this world and drive the movement of stars. But later, we discovered that rather than 'driving', these children were more like 'guiding' or 'hoping' the stars to move in the direction they wanted, rather than commanding and controlling. So now, we call them Star Saints."
Although he spoke lightly, Alpha could imagine how desperate those Light-Chasers were in that era when they had lost the gods and were welcoming the Chaos invasion, discovering that the Shining Region was rapidly shrinking—and how joyful they were when they discovered the 'Star Saints'. This excitement of finding a way out of desperation was something later generations like them could never experience.
At this point, Glorn's tone also became sincere.
"The Ash Church has always been discovering and nurturing as many Star Saints as possible. We transport stars from the Twilight Zone into the Shining Region, providing new fuel for the Central Zone... Fifty thousand years have passed, and our civilization continues. We haven't ushered in a dark age where the flame is extinguished. We still burn tenaciously, like ashes."
"So, do you understand now? Grand Scholar Alpha."
"We, the 'Ash Church', are the ones who have been trying to save the entire world! Your teacher, and your superiors, are 'Star Saints' that we hadn't discovered until recently. They also have the ability to control stars, but they are unwilling to contribute this power to the continuation of our entire civilization. Instead, they have been secretly sabotaging our efforts to find other Star Saints! This is an act hostile to all Light-Chasers, an act bordering on Chaos!"
"Join us—your teacher is unwilling to contribute her power to the civilization. We understand this selfishness, but we hope you can set aside your prejudices and become one of us."
And Alpha, amidst his shock, finally connected all the clues... Why was Teacher Carlis so concerned about his daughter? Why did such a major event as stars disappearing not cause any waves in the Alliance of Nations? Wasn't it simple—the high-ranking officials were all residents of the Shining Region, so they would undoubtedly support this act of plundering stars from the Twilight Zone!
In this way, basically everyone's actions became reasonable. And the reason why the Ash Church had been oppressive earlier but was now so gentle with him was probably because they knew he couldn't betray his teacher so easily. So they found an opportunity to follow him, try to persuade him in a place no one knew about, make him a spy, or follow the trail to find the hidden stronghold of his teacher and others, thereby obtaining more Star Saints from his teacher's hands.
Everything made sense... except for one thing.
"Everything you say is correct, Lord Inquisitor. I can't think of any refutation—for the sake of continuing the Shining Belt, the existence of our civilization's true core circle, even if all the stars in the Twilight Circle are plundered and countless colonies are destroyed, it doesn't really matter. After all, everyone I know and am familiar with lives in the Shining Region. All of this benefits me."
"But... what exactly is this Crystal Obelisk? Why did you follow me here, and why do you seem to have been searching for it all along? And this life sleeping within the obelisk..."
Saying this, Alpha looked up at the densely packed inscriptions and runes on the crystal prism above his head, as well as the shining, converging light. His tone lowered: "And how exactly do the Star Saints control so many stars? You've always refused to tell me about Siberia's situation, only saying that she's a Saint and is valued... but is she living well? Is she happy? Is she suffering? Why won't you tell me these things? As a father, I just want to know this!"
"...You have too many questions."
Glorn sighed: "This Crystal Obelisk... I can only tell you that this obelisk can be considered a kind of 'signal enhancement tower'. There's one at the Great Divine Mountain. As for the life sleeping here... hasn't the mural already made it clear? A clergy member of the Seven Gods from the era of the beginning of all creation, a great hero who fought against Chaos alongside the Heavenly Father."
"You want to awaken him?" Finally, Alpha said in a rather dry tone: "Have this sleeping hero serve you?"
"Of course not, or rather, we don't want to awaken him—but right now, we need his power. Otherwise, how could Star Saints who were ordinary people, or even little girls, not long ago, control the flow of billions of stars?"
Saying this, Glorn looked at Alpha's expressionless face. The white-haired Inquisitor couldn't help but sigh: "It seems you still don't intend to cooperate, do you? Even though I've been so patient, so gentle... Why can't any of you understand? In this dark age where the flame is about to be extinguished, all means are necessary. We have exhausted everything, sustained the flame for tens of thousands of years, sacrificed generation after generation of our brothers and sisters in the Church... For the sake of our civilization, the Church has indeed committed many evil deeds, but we have no regrets."
"Of course, if I could, I truly wish I could do it myself."
Saying this, Glorn waved his right hand, and between his palms, sparks ignited, instantly forming a flaming longsword. He slowly approached Alpha, stating for the last time: "Scholar Alpha, you are a Light-Chaser. I won't kill you, but we will brainwash you, making your knowledge and identity serve us. It's best not to resist. I'll try to be as gentle as possible."
"I believe that you have indeed dedicated everything to saving the Light-Chaser civilization, but compared to you, I would rather trust my teacher and my own instincts! Thank you for your explanation. I now understand many things."
Facing Glorn, who was approaching him, a full major rank above him in strength, Alpha's body trembled uncontrollably, but he still stood firmly in place. This man, whose ear tips had already become pointed and whose body surface was covered with a thin layer of silver light, suddenly looked up and shouted loudly toward the endless brilliance hanging at the top of the hall: "Praise the Dominant Will! Terminate the dormant incubation program! Activate the Restorative Pillar! Begin the awakening process!" (Silver Fairy-accented Mycroft Common Language)
"Unknown Pope, prehistoric hero—these people in red and black robes want to use you as a battery!" (Silver Fairy-accented Mycroft Common Language)
"...What are you saying?" (Light-Chaser Language)
The white-haired old man was stunned for a moment. He vaguely felt that the language Alpha was speaking sounded familiar, as if he had heard some similar fragments somewhere... But soon, he sensed something was wrong.
Because, an extremely powerful, extremely vast, even surpassing ordinary deities and reaching a kind of 'limit' of majestic power, was awakening, waking up, and exuding its terrifying aura above everyone present.
Humm—a low humming sound came, as if vibrating the entire obelisk, the entire world.
"Wh, what's going on?!"
Although he didn't understand the reason, there was no doubt that all of this was related to Alpha, who had suddenly spoken in an unknown language! Glorn, who had experienced countless battles, made a decisive decision and charged at Alpha at full speed—but when he, in the end, didn't have the intention to kill and only wanted to persuade and brainwash Alpha, this outcome was sealed.
Because, accompanied by the solidifying silver crystal prism, accompanied by the crisp shattering sound like breaking glass, transforming into a pillar of light that pierced through the entire hall and even the obelisk, the light golden-haired youth sleeping in the crystal gently opened his eyes—a huge heartbeat sound came, rumbling and vibrating. And in this increasingly rapid, increasingly vibrant sound, the youth clenched his fists. He was confused, then enlightened.
Ah—has such a long time already passed?
But it doesn't matter, because he has awakened from a time so long that it could make one forget everything, from a eternal sleep so distant that it seemed like death.
Lowering his head, the light in the golden-haired youth's eyes was very gentle, like the dawn of early summer, kind and warm. Gazing at the people in the hall, he chuckled, then blinked.
And then, all the light, all the movement of everyone, came to a halt.
"Between the orders, is the cycle of conflict still continuing?"
And it was only then that Glorn, frozen in place, maintaining his charging posture toward Alpha, recalled where he had heard this language before—it was an ancient divine language, rumored to be used by some deities at the beginning of creation... and compared to the divine sounds that had been passed down, the language in the mouth of the youth before him was more ancient, and his tone was gentler.
"I understand. The reason for your argument... even between what is correct and what is correct, a distinction must be made. As long as one is not strong, they will inevitably face a dilemma."
In an instant, the colorful light bubbles lingering at the top of the hall gathered behind the youth. The light converged, forming a pure white robe that draped over him. He took a step forward, and the vast Holy Light surged out in all directions like a tsunami, piercing through the upper and lower ends of the entire Crystal Obelisk!
Outside the Crystal Obelisk, in the Lightless Belt, one could see that on the mountain of Chaos corpses that had buried the entire obelisk, cracks like blood vessel scars began to burst open, and beams of holy radiance burst forth from these cracks, like swords, like beacons—and as the entire mountain body was shattered by the immense Holy Light, the extremely huge, extremely vast mountain, towering at twenty-four light-minutes, collapsed and fell away with a roar. A bright beam of Holy Light shot out from the top of the obelisk, was amplified and enhanced, and finally transformed into a pillar of light that pierced through the endless darkness of the Lightless Zone, supporting the sky and the earth!
And amidst the gradually spreading massive earthquake and the countless rising clouds of dust, a majestic and imposing silver obelisk emerged from the ancient rock layers and history, standing on the earth. The dazzling Holy Light illuminated thousands upon thousands of kilometers. Countless Chaos Monsters turned to ashes just upon contact!
And at this moment, inside the obelisk, Alpha, also frozen in place, met the gaze of the shocked and furious Glorn. His eyes were filled with delight.
"Didn't expect this, did you?"
"I can read these inscriptions!"
Ever since entering the obelisk, Alpha had felt that an instinct was awakening in his blood. When he looked at the murals earlier, he felt that he could vaguely understand the complex inscriptions. As time passed, these memories and knowledge became clearer and clearer—he really had to thank Glorn for always trying to persuade him to join the Ash Church. Otherwise, he might not have waited long enough to be able to read the inscription text beside the crystal prism hanging at the top of the hall.
[Clean the dust every three days]
[Don't forget to check the dormant incubation program]
[Before starting the awakening process, remember to activate the Restorative Pillar first, otherwise the sleeper will have difficulty coming out on their own]
[Don't forget to loudly praise the Dominant Will (emphasis)]
[]
If he didn't recognize these inscriptions, it would be one thing, but after recognizing them, Alpha discovered that these characters were written crookedly, with uneven sizes. It was completely obvious that the life that wrote this text didn't care about aesthetics at all—but who cares! Awakening this unknown sleeping life might be what Teacher wanted him to do by coming here. Being able to read these poorly written inscriptions was undoubtedly something only he could do!
And at this moment, outside the obelisk, deep in the Lightless Zone, at the top of another mountain peak.
"It seems the little guy did quite well. Another old friend has awakened, and unlike us who awakened midway without power, he possesses the strength to change the current situation."
Wearing a brown, capable explorer's outfit, with silver hair and red eyes, fair skin—if not for the strange eyepiece telescope she wore, she would be considered a beautiful renowned scholar—Baron Carlis gazed at the pure white pillar of light rising in the distance. She said with some emotion: "Speaking of which, sigh, I really can't understand... why do humans always have perverts who fall in love with fairies?"
"You've got one thing wrong. As far as I know, this time, it was the fairy who confessed to that little guy's ancestor first."
Beside Carlis, another person with silver hair and red eyes, but with slightly healthier brown skin—Royal University Scholar Mycroft—shook his finger and clicked his tongue: "Your race is relatively pure, but there are plenty of mixed-bloods here—do I need to tell you how mermaids and centaurs interbred back then, giving rise to the seahorse race?"
"...Spare me."
Shocked by the things in her friend's mouth that defied the lower limit of ordinary human common sense, Carlis paused for a moment, then continued to look at the Crystal Obelisk. Her tone was quite emotional: "It seems I wasn't wrong—among the trillions upon trillions of beings on this Steel Continent, he is indeed the only one who has fully awakened the Silver Fairy bloodline and holds the internal management authority of this 'Silver World'."
"Since all the Silver Fairies sacrificed themselves in the Chaos War fifty thousand years ago, and the remaining part voluntarily transformed into 'Divine Mechanisms', this is probably the last remaining bloodline of that being's kin."
"Someone who can attract the reincarnation of the Steel Serpent is naturally no ordinary person. Speaking of which, is it okay for him to still be with those people from the Ash Church?"
Shrugging, unable to continue the bloodline secrets between mermaids, centaurs, and seahorses, Mycroft looked somewhat disinterested: "If Eagle accidentally lets them kill your student, then this last Silver Fairy authority will be gone."
"Setting aside whether Eagle is that slow-witted, even if he dies, he can be resurrected. Besides, the Ash Church won't do that. Although their methods are dirty, evil, and inhumane, they are also truly striving to save the world. In this regard, we are the same."
Saying this, Carlis and Mycroft slowly rose simultaneously. Their bodies were wrapped in silver light, and the radiance of a leap was shining toward the Holy Light beacon in the distance. As they leaped away, heading to the location of the obelisk, Carlis's final voice could be heard.
"It's just that, if their goal is to 'sustain the flame'."
"Then our goal is to 'extinguish the flame'."
—On the day the fuel is exhausted and the flame is extinguished, the blazing fire will be rekindled.
That day will come, must come, and is about to come.
They firmly believed this.
()
Peak