Chapter 753: The Future of Fire

Chapter 751 The Future of Fire
When the world is on the verge of the end, cause and effect will gradually fall into chaos. It is not that the last remaining sober Final Preacher has come to Duncan, but that a Final Preacher who finally remains sober has “appeared” in Duncan’s field of vision.

But for the two parties involved, it doesn’t seem to matter who is the cause and who is the effect of these two events.

“What is your name?” Duncan looked at the white-robed old man in front of him, suddenly a little curious.

In the face of such a simple question, the traveler clad in tattered white robes frowned deeply, he pondered for a while before gently shaking his head, “Can’t quite remember, the last time I used ‘name’ seems to be a long time ago… …But you may call me Critter if you wish.”

“Critter?” Duncan frowned, “That is the name of your pack.”

“…… Oh yes, no wonder it’s so familiar,” the old man showed a dawning look, a small smile appearing on his face, “Very well then, call me that, I like the name. ”

Duncan was silent for a moment and nodded softly, “Okay, Critter. I have some questions now.”

“Please ask, I have plenty of time this time.”

“First question, why did you choose to meet with me at this time?” Duncan looked the other man in the eye, his tone very serious, “What is the purpose of this ‘window’?”

“…… We’ve actually been looking for an opportunity to make direct contact with you – in this case, those of ‘us’ who still retain their sanity. “Critter answered the question with a slight, imperceptible moment of hesitation, but was quick to give an answer, “Except that contacting you is a very difficult thing to do – in fact, we tried it once before today, except that …… we missed that window.”

“Your creator …… You mean Pilot One?” Duncan responded, nodding with it, “Yes. He wanted me to come and take over his authority and take over the world, but I refused.”

Clete lifted his head and looked up at the darkened roof above him, and only when silence returned to his surroundings once more did he turn his gaze back to Duncan.

A slight shuddering sound and creaking reached Duncan’s ears, a low, uneasy sound echoing from deep within the Lost Country’s hold, but after a few seconds the noises subsided again.

“Demonstrating something?” Duncan’s expression immediately grew serious upon hearing those words, “What does that mean? What are you going to demonstrate to me?”

“…… Before that, I would like to confirm one thing to you,” Krit stared up at Duncan, “You have rejected our creator, yes?”

The Endbringer Preacher (or rather the Endbringer Survey Team) knew the truth about his “fire usurper”, that he was an alien soul occupying the shell of Duncan Ebnomar – that part of the story was something he had already realized, but the other part of the truth was something completely beyond his expectations – the

Duncan quickly clarified the message in Krit’s words and gradually responded, “That is to say, you did not originally intend to make contact with …… ‘him’?”

In Tirion and Lucrecia’s memories, those “uninvited guests” who suddenly appeared on the Lost Country ship, those preachers of the end of the world …… who had talked with Duncan Ebnomar all night long, they were originally coming to find themselves!

“Yes, we were early,” Clete nodded softly, repeating the words again, “by the time we realized it wasn’t 1900, the window had already ended …… and that was the biggest ‘linear’ event we’ve had since we set out to encountered the largest ‘linear runaway event’, and since that day many things have begun to spin out of control, but again, in terms of results …… nothing seems to have gone off the established trajectory. Duncan Ebnomar still embarked on his last voyage – after learning in advance of his end.”

A storm of thoughts had swirled in Duncan’s mind over those few short words!

“…… missed a window?” Duncan looked puzzled, “What does that mean?”

“We’re early, Mr. Captain.” Clete said calmly.

“Yes, we are early in revealing the end of a man who went to his death,” Critter nodded slowly, “I know what you are trying to say, but the truth is, the moment we appeared on this ship, he seemed to have known certain . . things, as a great explorer he had already predicted his fate, our appearance only surprised him for a few seconds, and after that until the end of the window he was just asking us something about how to navigate the border waters.”

Duncan was stunned for a moment, and after an extremely brief moment of thought, he suddenly understood the meaning of the other man’s statement, “You mean, those three …… who showed up on the Lost Country in the first place”

“After missing that window, our only remaining, opportunity to come into contact with you will be today – or rather, only when the stability of the shelter drops near its limit will we ‘anti-order’ existences have the or rather, it is only when the stability of the Asylum falls near its limit that we ‘anti-order’ existences can safely enter your field of vision. And it is precisely because the stability of the Asylum has fallen to its limits that we have the opportunity to demonstrate to you …… something that will help you understand the fate of this world, the ‘established’ fate so far.”

“…… Yes? That’s very good.” Hearing Duncan’s reply, Critter said as if to himself.

Duncan, on the other hand, was a bit curious, “…… What does this have to do with what you’re going to show me?”

Critter, however, did not answer directly, but instead stepped forward, all the way to the door that led into subspace and was currently closed tightly.

“Have you ever opened this door?” “No,” Duncan stepped forward, some immediate caution in his tone, “this door leads to subspace, and opening it in reality is not a good idea.”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to be nervous – I’m not going to open it, nor do I have the ability to do so,” Clete noticed the change in Duncan’s tone and a wisp of a smile appeared on his face, “I’m just showing you around. ”

Duncan spoke cautiously while noting Critter’s movements, “A look?”

“The subspace will reflect everything …… as far as the possibilities of this asylum are concerned, the answers to which have long been seared into that endless sea of chaos that we ……”

Krit muttered softly, suddenly reaching out and tapping twice on the door’s frame.

“…… We’ve always been good at fishing through that chaos for glimpses of what’s been floating around in the river of time.”

The next second, as Duncan watched in some surprise, the door suddenly shattered like an illusion – light and shadows beyond the limits of human intellectual comprehension swooped in like a storm, before reorganizing around him in the blink of an eye.

He almost struck out, but then controlled the impulse in the nick of time, turning to stand calmly where he was.

For he felt no threat or hostility, and could even clearly sense that the door still stood intact – and Critter’s aura was nearby, unchanged.

He looked around and realized that he was standing on a dark, high mountain, with a chaotic, obscure sky shrouding everything, a dull glow hidden deep in the clouds, and a vast wilderness beneath the mountain, while city-like ruins could be vaguely seen in that boundless expanse, as well as elevated aqueducts that had dried up and broken.

Beyond that, the earth was cracked and dry, and some kind of delicate “gray” covered everything in sight, filling the ruins and aqueducts, and swirling up with the wind in the valleys, blowing like fog in the direction of the plains.

A piercing coldness filled the earth and sky, as if even the flying ashes would be frozen.

Duncan quietly watched all this, and only after a long time did he softly speak, “What is this?”

“This is the Age of Fire, Mr. Captain.” Critter’s voice came from the side – he had stood there at some point, still wearing the tattered white robes, only they seemed to be getting a few more tattered.

After a moment of silence, Duncan asked again, “Is this some branch of history?”

“It is the only branch of history on the premise that the Asylum survives.” Clete said.

The “final preacher” then paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his words, before continuing:
“In the beginning, you reshaped the earth, and all the grand plans of the blueprints that failed to materialize were brought to life, and vast lands never before imagined by mankind rose out of the sea, and city-states were connected, and resources became plentiful – then you calmed the sea, and made it more alive, and the waters were purified in the mountains and rivers, and transformed into a new world. Then You calmed the sea and brought more life to it, and the sea water was purified in the mountains and rivers, and became rain and snow on the earth.

“Then the earthly world began to flourish, and for a time this new world flourished beyond all the poetry of the Deep Age that celebrated the good – strong nations arose on the earth, growing day and night, new technologies were discovered, new poetry, literature, and ideas for the future – steam trains traveled across the mountains, and new technologies were discovered, and new poetry, literature, and ideas for the future were created. Imagination – steam trains across mountains and wildernesses, huge pipework connecting factories with the steel jungles of cities ……

“Many stories, many lives, heroes and fuhrers, knights and philosophers, legendary adventurers, and ordinary people trying to make a living in the city.

“Believe me, Mr. Captain, if I had shown you not this scene directly, but those glorious days, then even you would have been that much swayed-even the strongest-willed consuls and guardians of this world would have been willing to trade everything for that world, even if it was only glorious …… for a very short time.”

Duncan did not speak, he stood at the top of the mountain, quietly overlooking the dry, broken earth at his feet, and it was a long time before he broke the silence, “Is there anyone alive at this moment?”

“No more, the ashes have swallowed everything – do you see the ruins of that city? The highest church in the center of the city …… is where the last asylum seeker took his last breath, and now only a hollow soul lingers in that church, a great sword in her hand, a sword that protects no one in this moment.”

Duncan raised his head again and looked toward the obscure glow in the sky, “And what is that?”

“A …… very, very small sun that tried to reheat the land as the world began to cool, and held it for a long time.”

“And my flame?”

“Extinguished, Mr. Captain,” said Collette slowly, “after you had burned up all that could be burned on earth.”

(End of chapter.)