Chapter 7: A Signal from the Distant Beyond
Year 837 of the Falling Stars Era, June 20th. The Lord's Mansion of Moldavia echoed with the familiar complaints of the maids.
"Master, it's been almost two or three years since you last took us into a proper fight..."
Living in the home of a strongman was indeed a hard life.
Just then, in the study on the second floor of the Lord's Mansion, a faint flow of holy light coalesced. A smooth, pristine sheet of letter paper slowly materialized within a small magic array beside the desk.
The paper was of fine quality, clearly from a place with extremely high craftsmanship. It wasn't wrapped in an envelope, but a layer of holy light enveloped its exterior. As the holy light rapidly dissipated, the words on the white paper gradually became visible.
**[To My Friend, Count Radcliffe]**
This was the first and only page visible.
"My friend, your views on the soul and the Ultimate Essence of the Soul have greatly moved me."
It was a letter. The handwriting was elegant and archaic, bearing the cursive style of the last century. The script closely resembled the standard calligraphy used in the Far South... but upon closer inspection, it wasn't that he wrote like the standard; rather, the standard seemed to be modeled after him. At this moment, the man who defined the standard appeared quite surprised, his handwriting even lifting slightly: "Denying the innate nature of the soul and emphasizing the relationship between spirit and flesh—this opens a new avenue for soul research. Your contribution is immense. If possible, I would like to compile your letter and publish it in the official academic journal of the Holy Mountain."
"At the same time, I feel I should explain to you the results of the Seven Gods' Holy Mountain's observations of the soul over so many years, and the relationship between the cycle of souls that people speak of and the world we live in—what it truly is and how it works."
Having said this, the excited handwriting calmed down, as if the writer had regained his composure. He wrote seriously and earnestly: "First, I must tell you this: the world is constantly receiving energy from the Void."
"Void rays, space-time fluctuations, external energy tides... Before the Great Magic Tide arrived, every world was constantly receiving vast amounts of energy from the Void. But this energy was fleeting; it would rapidly pass through our world. Even the Great Magic Tide is like this. If it weren't for its continuous eruption, it would be nothing more than a fleeting glimpse for us."
"Nothing can retain these energy tides that seem to spill over after a world's destruction (forgive Barbarossa, I stopped him and learned the content of your conversation the other day). But the soul can. The soul can capture this energy from other worlds and use it to strengthen itself... The more people, the more souls, the more energy retained. When beings pass away, their souls circulate in the world, forming the cycle of souls, returning all the energy absorbed in a lifetime back to the world... Can you understand?"
"The cycle of souls will continuously increase the energy concentration within a world! And this energy can absolutely be used for training in Transcendent power. As long as a world has some Transcendent power and can give birth to souls, its Transcendent power concentration will grow higher and stronger. The smaller the world, the faster the concentration of Transcendent power rises!"
At the very end of the letter, the handwriting was slightly different from before, as if written at a different time. The script had become much more hurried.
"According to the gods, the Mycroft World was partially blown apart at the end of the last era by the war between the Sages and the Evil Gods. The current Mycroft World is much smaller than it was during the Era of Radiance, roughly half the size. So the energy concentration in our world recovered to its peak very quickly, returning to the level of the Era of Radiance, and is even denser now."
"The Boundless Heaven is a product of that war. It was originally part of the sky of the Mycroft World. The gods set up a space-time barrier around it, making it their throne. It was once a crucial part of the soul cycle, but now it has become a burial ground for the gods. We have guided it back to the Mycroft World, completing a part of the soul cycle... The innocent souls that once wandered aimlessly across the world now finally have a place to rest."
The writer at this moment seemed somewhat tired, but he still wrote earnestly: "To be honest, the reason I replied so late is because a major event has recently occurred, consuming much of my energy. If possible, Joshua, please contact me as soon as possible. This matter is of great importance and extremely unique. Perhaps only you have the ability to resolve it."
"The Seven Gods' Holy Mountain, Israel."
The letter had appeared, but the recipient had already left, heading for an unknown distant place.
At that same moment, on the Holy Mountain warship, the Glory Fortress, the central control area of the 'Saint's Eye' Observation Post.
A dozen elite clergy were working diligently in a spherical hall, facing numerous light screens. They controlled hundreds of observation arrays, layering them upon each other to create observation points of various sizes capable of penetrating spatial turbulence. Under the round-the-clock operation of the clergy working in shifts, these observation points would run day and night, observing and monitoring all anomalies around the Mycroft World.
Whether it was spatial turbulence, energy fluctuations, or large mass depressions, these anomalies were all under the surveillance of the Saint's Eye Observation Post. The observation members meticulously summarized all information and reported it to the main control room at the Holy Mountain's central hub. The vast majority of this information was meaningless spatial fluctuations or noise from energy tremors, but no one slacked off because of it.
"Sector 58-92: No anomalies."
"Sector 93-121: No anomalies."
"Sector 131: Anomaly detected. A small piece of Void meteorite is flying towards the Mycroft World. Detection result: No foreign world bacteria residue. Handling method: Passive observation."
"No anomalous signals detected."
In the control area, clergy members sent out brief reports via psychic communication. They seemed to be searching for something. Whenever an 'anomalous signal was detected', everyone present would jolt. Upon confirming it was merely the most common disordered signal from the Void, they would return to their normal state.
Standing in the center of the control area was an old man with white hair. Under the respectful gazes of everyone around, Israel monitored all signal stations simultaneously. His expression was calm, but he seemed to be waiting for something.
"Hiss... hiss..."
"Anomalous signal detected in Sector 157."
The clergy member controlling the observation point skillfully issued a signal alert. Although it was just a faint, barely audible hissing sound, likely just meaningless shortwave interference caused by Void rays affecting the observation array, his duty was to report anything unusual.
"Hiss... crackle."
"Anomaly detected again."
The clergy member issued a second alert signal. This was also very normal. If an observation point experienced energy interference, even a dozen consecutive alerts were expected. The clergy member working here had already prepared to send out continuous alert signals. At the same time, he was thinking about whether to eat grilled meat for dinner. The cultivation center on the Holy Mountain fortress in the Void had had a good harvest a few days ago, so the fortress no longer needed food transported from the surface and could be self-sufficient.
"Hiss... hiss... We..."
"Anomaly detected again... Wait!"
The middle-aged clergy member, who was thinking about whether to splurge on grilled meat for dinner or just make do with bread and mashed potatoes in the cafeteria, skillfully sent out the alert signal. But then, he froze. He felt like he had just heard a voice speaking the Mycroft Common Tongue... Was he hallucinating? Or was there really such a voice? In any case, he decided to give this anomalous signal a priority alert.
But before he could take the next action, more, clearer signals came through.
"Hiss... hiss... crackle... la... This... is... the Grand Database... Keeper... reporting... hiss..."
"Clear foreign world signal detected!"
Without hesitation, the middle-aged clergy member immediately cast aside the thoughts of grilled meat, bread, and mashed potatoes from his mind. He issued the highest-level 'Foreign World Observer' signal—this indicated the discovery of foreign world life, and a signal of the highest level capable of communicating or traveling through the Void. Following procedure, the clergy member first saved the segment of the signal that had just appeared through the observation post's intelligent core, then uploaded it layer by layer according to clearance. Because he had issued the highest-level signal, all observation points monitoring Sectors 1-200 simultaneously shifted their targets, conducting a full-power search.
Israel, standing in the control room, widened his eyes. Because he was monitoring all observation points simultaneously, he had also heard that voice. It was not an illusion, but genuine Mycroft Common Tongue. The voice was a bit strange, with an accent vastly different from the current Common Tongue, but anyone could understand this language that sounded like a dialect.
Finally, it had come.
The next wait was not long. With the highest alert issued, and all working clergy confirming the signal was real, they converged their observation points on Sector 157. A clearer signal reached everyone's ears.
"...The internal cycle has collapsed. We can no longer sustain life. The matter conversion array can still function, but we have no more matter to cycle."
It was a tired female voice. Her tone was strange, as if she rarely spoke to people, and her grammar had many issues. But no one cared about these small details. Everyone listened intently. "The stars have gone out. The world is pitch black. There is no light. We cannot find the way home... Passersby who can hear this voice, this signal, if you can hear us, please tell the Mycroft people that we have kept our promise and held our ground here."
"A thousand years have passed. The Keepers of the Unified Grand Database and their descendants are still at their posts, and will sleep here forever."
Recommended reading: Urban Godly Master's New Book