Chapter 645 - 602

Chapter 645: 602

"Even if there really were a Star Prison Tianyu, wouldn’t there still be eleven planets? That’s eleven new worlds. Given that... why not wait until that time comes?"

"By then, maybe... there will always be a way, right?"

At this, not only did the Duke of Sorin show a look of disappointment, but Ian also shook his head helplessly.

—Adalbert’s biggest advantage and shortcoming are probably his overly optimistic mindset.

"Don’t be naive."

Before the Duke of Sorin could speak, Ian shook his head: "The population and the demand for resources are rising exponentially. Eleven planets? Not to mention how many are habitable, even if they all were, and all were usable, how many centuries could we last without expanding outward?"

"Besides, the civilization of the previous era encountered the Calamity of Heavenly Fall, and we will probably face it too... Even without a second Calamity of Heavenly Fall, are the mysterious natural disasters on Terra now decreasing?"

"If the Cage is truly completed, it will definitely cause considerable changes to this world, a trend that we humans simply cannot stop."

"Thinking about it then will be too late—The disappearance of civilizations might even be a good outcome, not to mention ecological extinction, the entire world becoming a wasteland..."

Speaking to this point, Ian hesitated for a moment, his gaze lowering as the abilities of the Deceased Monarch and the River of Death suddenly flashed through his mind.

Spirit Energy Spaceship... shelters...

Or maybe...

—The world after death?!

The Duke of Sorin noticed the change in Ian’s expression and nodded with satisfaction: "You understand—Yes, Yinaiga’s plan from the past has become impractical, I must make corresponding adjustments."

"The plans like the Deceased Monarch’s are indeed the final contingency for the inevitable natural disasters to come."

"But."

Ian’s voice was incredibly low and hoarse as he said, "Who was it... Which civilization built Star Prison Tianyu? What exactly happened to the Moon of Longing that year? This is the most critical core of the problem!"

Despite learning so much information from the Duke of Sorin, Ian felt he knew even less—He finally understood why the Star Domain Map in the South Sea Great Labyrinth had vanished in such a balanced manner, all at the same time, because just beyond the starfield centered around the Aether Sun, there was a light-blocking Cage gradually spreading, enveloping the entire Terra Starfield.

—It wasn’t that Terra had survived... It wasn’t that Terra hadn’t been attacked, so it wasn’t ’destroyed’.

The attack and destruction had already arrived!

Of course, that wasn’t all... Because the Cage had cracks, and it was through these cracks that living beings could still see some incomplete stars.

This proves that an unknown factor was hindering the Cage’s closure. This didn’t prevent the Cage from regenerating, but at least for now, the Terra Humans could still see some stars beyond the Cage.

They could even worry about the ’Heavenly Fall’ that might be caused by a ’Supernova Eruption’ beyond the distant stars.

This could even be considered a fortunate disaster.

Because the existence of this disaster might be the unknown reason giving the Terra Humans their final hope.

Yet even so, these stars were gradually going out... and that supernova explosion might not be the natural end of a normal star’s life.

There was only one possible reason.

—Other galaxies, other stars, were also enveloped by the same prison. Or, they weren’t just enveloped, but directly destroyed.

This is the only explanation.

There is a civilization, a power, or some type of being or natural phenomenon that is caging every star in the Milky Way, even in galaxy clusters, and perhaps throughout the universe, and even destroying some stars.

But why?!

If there is a civilization capable of such a feat, does it really need to imprison stars?

"I’ve told you, Heir of Hiliard, I don’t know—actually, if even you don’t know, then indeed I have nothing else to say,"

In response to Ian’s doubts, Duke Sorin spoke slowly, seeming to be collecting his emotions.

His complexion was awful, but because he had just released the anxiety that had been hidden in his heart for decades, there was actually some relief in his eyes and brows: "I can only tell you, as you have guessed, the Spirit Fire Seed plan was designed to cope with the complete formation of Star Prison Tianyu, and it has failed; we cannot build that kind of spaceship and moving refuge."

"But for me, that is no longer important. The essence of the Deceased Monarch is just for those nationals within my domain,"

"I have lost all hope for the future of Terra. In the foreseeable future, Duke Sorin’s Domain will also become a hellish battlefield. Therefore, I must think for all the Domain Residents who believe in me and envision a future for them,"

"Even if heaven and earth were to shatter, mountains collapse, seas evaporate, continents overturn... I must create a paradise for them,"

"Even if this paradise is no different from hell, at least their souls can be preserved eternally,"

"Heir of Hiliard, if it’s you, you can surely guess, can’t you? The real purpose of the Deceased Monarch’s plan?"

Under the moonlight, Ian closed his eyes.

He pondered. He connected all the intelligence and information he had ever received.

He suddenly remembered the ballad he had heard just before entering the Subspace Labyrinth.

"—That’s right, we have entered the end,"

"In the endlessly profound Soul Homeland, beyond the boundless River of Death, under the dominion of the unchallenged Deceased Monarch, a new world was born,"

"Our blood tears turned into the sea, our flesh and bones became the land, our lament has risen to become the skies, our despair has condensed into the sun,"

"Our hatred burns, the raging fire that consumes desolation; our final breath becomes the tempest that envelops the world,"

"We will persist in this inescapable cage, we will live eternally in this unredeemable Fire Hell—only despair, hatred, pain, and sorrow will accompany us,"

Murmuring this ballad filled with pain, despair, and even a curse, Ian slowly opened his eyes, having realized the critical point: "We will persist in this inescapable cage, we will live eternally in this unredeemable Fire Hell..."

—Souls can persist in the Domain of Void, but must be in areas of extreme heat and energy to maintain, and such areas could only be found in volcanic regions or near the sun.

—Near the sun is utterly impractical, too unstable to sustain for long.

—But on a planet, or more precisely, inside a planet, there is another region that could meet this condition.

That is Earth’s Core.

"Inescapable cage, unredeemable Fire Hell..."

Repeating this stanza, Ian looked at Duke Sorin, who was silent and floating in mid-air.

He said in disbelief, "It’s Earth’s Core!"

"You want to create a hell in Earth’s Core?!"