Chapter 1279: “Cruising”

The “Iron Earth” gave no response to High King’s signal. This hollow shell followed its preset program, just like clockwork. After lingering briefly at the border of the Godrealm, it began to retreat back into the depths of dark chaos. From within the colossal beast came the low roar of ancient engines or some other propulsion device. The translucent energy shield thickened and solidified, becoming heavier than before. Endless clouds of sand and dust swirled in from all directions, converging overhead as the “ship” gradually sank and retreated. The swirling dust began to close in above everyone’s heads.

Melita looked up toward the Godrealm of the War God. That dead city, shrouded in the twilight glow, floated atop a sea of clouds that was slowly disintegrating. Noretta and the others still stood at the border, watching this side. The dust and mist gathered from all around, and the distant figures gradually blurred in the haze. Melita waved her hand vigorously. The distant silhouettes waved back, then the entire sky filled with the cloud sea, engulfing everyone’s view.

“We’re starting to ‘descend,’” High King said in a low voice. He lifted his head, watching the dim yellow mist outside the shield grow thicker and heavier. The surrounding light dimmed further. “From here on, we will lose contact with the world we know and enter a realm no mortal has ever visited before. Be extra cautious.”

“From the moment we stepped into the Godrealm of the War God, we had already entered a realm no mortal had ever set foot in,” Daniel said quietly, shaking his head slightly. Behind him, Mary gripped her short staff tightly, looking both nervous and excited at the unknown.

High King couldn’t help but glance at the young mage. He nodded slightly.

As Daniel’s mental state improved, this once timid girl—who had lived in fear every day—had changed greatly. Perhaps even she hadn’t realized it herself.

The “heavenly light” above was growing dimmer. As the iron giant sank deeper, the thick cloud sea—a mixture of dust and mist—darkened like a nightfall. Outside the shield, the darkness deepened, triggering some of the “Iron Earth’s” automated systems. More lights flickered on, coming into view.

These floating orbs of light, like street lamps, lined the unknown alloy roads. They didn’t brighten the place to daylight, but they were enough to reveal the surroundings.

“This place must have once been inhabited,” Modir said thoughtfully, watching the lights that automatically activated as the “daylight” faded. “Machines don’t need street lamps. Only people do.”

“We’re leaving that ‘cloud sea,’” Victoria suddenly said, looking up. Her sharp eyes caught the change beyond the shield. Though the outside was as dark as night, her superhuman vision could still discern vague “scenery” in the gloom. She saw a roiling mist rapidly receding beyond the shield. Deep within the clouds was a faint yellow glow—fading quickly—the War God’s realm and the “Godrealm’s Dispersal Zone.” Beyond that vague cloud mass, boundless darkness and chaos surged in from all directions.

The ancient iron ship left by the Voyagers was sinking into the deep sea—and still descending.

“We’ve already left the material world, haven’t we?” Amber asked nervously, hugging herself and whispering, “Why do I feel cold? Can this shield really maintain a livable environment?”

“The temperature around us hasn’t changed. You’re just scaring yourself,” High King said, glancing at the alliance’s cowardly disgrace. “As for the material world… I’m increasingly unsure what counts as material, elemental, or spiritual.”

He frowned, staring into the endless, profound darkness beyond the shield. Within that darkness floated countless geometric lines and indescribable chaotic matter or “patches.” “Do you see those things? Those ‘entities’ drifting in the dark—we just passed through one huge ‘mass’ but our ‘ship’ didn’t interact with it at all. It was like passing through a shadow. But according to Myrmina, those ‘objects’ floating in the darkness should be tangible ‘entities’…”

Amber’s eyes widened. “Ship? You’re saying this thing beneath our feet is a ship?”

“I can’t think of a better term. ‘Iron Earth’ only describes its upper layer. The whole structure and operation clearly aren’t that of an island. It’s some kind of… ‘vessel’ left by the Voyagers. So I call it a ship—though it’s on a scale beyond our imagination.”

High King spoke slowly, leading the group forward along the steel road beneath their feet. As they walked, he sensed the energy flows around them and continued trying to contact any remaining “Voyager systems.”

“Such a massive… ‘ship’…” The young mage Mary swallowed hard, gazing with awe at the endless alloy deck stretching ahead and the ancient facilities built upon it. Having adapted to life in the imperial capital, she once thought she had broadened her horizons. Even if not as knowledgeable as her mentor, she considered herself a competent mage. But now she suddenly realized that beyond her understanding, there were unimaginable things in this world.

Melita heard Mary’s quiet exclamation and smiled faintly. “The Voyagers built even bigger things—so vast that even we dragons can hardly imagine.”

High King smiled and shook his head without speaking. Indeed, the colossal constructs of the Voyagers defied imagination… Have you ever seen a ring station orbiting an entire planet?

Suddenly, a massive shadow emerged silently from the darkness, looming over the shield of the Iron Earth. It looked like a black cylinder—seeing a dark object in the dark might sound eerie, but High King and his group could clearly make out the outline and movement of this “chaos mass.” It drifted out from the depths, spinning as it passed through the giant “ship” beneath them. There was no vibration, no ripple in the darkness.

“Once again… we’ve brushed past one of these ‘entities’ in the chaos,” Kamail said gravely. The two points of light on his head flickered slightly, showing he was deep in thought. “It seems our ‘ship’ uses some unknown technology to avoid interacting with these ‘entities’… Incredible. How is that even possible?”

No one could answer Kamail’s question—not even Melita, a dragon. But High King suddenly recalled what Myrmina had told him in her report—about the blurred boundaries between matter and non-matter, the transformations between spirit and substance. He still couldn’t grasp the mystery fully, but vaguely sensed that many strange phenomena at the “world’s foundation” were connected to what Myrmina had seen.

The Voyagers from 1.8 million years ago… must have already understood these secrets and turned them into controllable technology. This giant ship, capable of sailing the deep sea, likely applied those principles.

“By the way, what exactly are those ‘objects’ floating in the darkness?” Amber looked up curiously at the chaotic masses drifting past the shield, appearing and disappearing in the gloom. “They don’t look like the debris floating outside the Godrealm. That debris, though bizarre, still shows colors and shapes. But these black geometric forms… some of them don’t even seem to conform to—”

Amber frowned, stumbling over her words. High King knew what she meant and finished for her: “They don’t conform to geometric norms… they shouldn’t exist in the real world, right?”

“The High Council’s senior advisors don’t have a consensus on their nature,” Kamail said quietly. “They speculate these ‘chaos drifters’ might be fragments of ancient ideologies, their history lost in the river of time. Even the oldest dragon gods don’t know their origin. Through long forgetfulness and mutation, echoes of the ancient era transformed into these invisible drifting things in the deep sea… Another theory suggests they aren’t that old, but rather part of the current era’s ideological reflections—though their logic doesn’t match any known laws.”

“We still know very little about these strange existences,” High King sighed softly, then looked at Kamail. “Can you locate the explorer golem we sent here earlier?”

“Yes. Though it’s in standby mode, it’s still emitting a faint magical signal. I sense it beneath a passage ahead,” Kamail nodded. “I memorized the golem’s transmitted route. There’s a path leading inside this ‘ship’… though in terms of ‘depth,’ it’s still far from the ship’s true ‘core.’”

High King nodded and gestured for Kamail to lead the way. The exploration team pressed deeper into the Iron Earth.

Meanwhile, this ancient vessel—possibly running continuously for 1.8 million years, bearing a mysterious mission—continued “cruising” through the boundless chaotic space. With no fixed reference points, no one knew how fast it traveled or how deep it sank. Only the strange, shifting shadows passing beyond the shield reminded them that this “earth” beneath their feet was not stationary but always in motion.

Suddenly, a slight tremor came from below. The exploration team, heading toward a passage entrance, immediately stopped.

Amber looked around nervously, whispering rapidly, “What’s going on? What’s happening…?”

Kamail raised his hand and traced a few simple runes in the air. Moments later, he said quietly, “…We’re decelerating, and… ‘ascending.’”

Before he finished, a faint, hazy light suddenly appeared diagonally above the Iron Earth. In the endless dark chaos, this glimmer stood out sharply—unexpected and startling!

Everyone instantly heightened their vigilance, bracing themselves against the possibility of some unspeakable horror emerging from the darkness. Meanwhile, High Lord focused intently on the faint, hazy glow ahead. A vague suspicion stirred in his mind. As the glow drew nearer, fragmented debris orbiting around it gradually emerged from the shadows, confirming his growing intuition.

The colossal “ship” carrying them all began to ascend toward the glow, deftly maneuvering to avoid the drifting wreckage circling it—or perhaps those fragments, sensing an overwhelming danger, had already veered away from the ship’s path. Moments later, the hazy light sharpened into a clear vision, and as everyone took in the sight, their eyes widened in astonishment.

It was a land—a fertile, thriving garden floating deep within the darkness and chaos. A shimmering membrane enveloped this orb-like space, inside which springtime radiated in full bloom. Countless exotic fruits hung heavy on divine trees, their branches bowed under the weight. Rich soil undulated beneath a profusion of earthly flowers, while two great rivers meandered through the land, flowing into a vast garden. The rivers ran with honey and fine wine, their surfaces shimmering with a soft golden glow under the celestial light.

Within the garden, beside the flowing rivers, winged creatures resembling tiny fairies busied themselves crafting exquisite dishes and delicate ornaments. They offered their creations to a long table at the garden’s center, where laughter and merriment filled the air. At the far end of the table stood three beautiful figures—half deer, half women—wearing wreaths woven from flowers and leaves. Their long golden hair cascaded like waterfalls over their shoulders.

They—or rather, They—were hosting the guests at the feast. The celebration seemed both freshly begun and yet had endured for ten millennia.

The ancient ship navigating the dark chaos steadily approached this floating “paradise.” Countless sensors quietly activated, beams of light scanned the thin membrane, but the sacred spirits feasting within the garden paid no heed.

“That is…” Amber looked up, pointing at the upside-down garden floating just outside the shield, her eyes wide with disbelief.

By now, the “Iron Earth” had drawn extremely close to this “paradise,” even closer than when it hovered at the boundary of the War God’s realm. With the explorers’ keen eyesight, the feast inside the garden was clearly visible.

“…The divine realm of the Three Gods of Abundance,” High Lord said gravely. “Clearly, this is a new ‘stop.’”

As his words fell, Modril blinked, as if about to speak, but suddenly, a new anomaly erupted!

He saw the shield overhead flicker, and an additional faint blue barrier unfolded. Outside this new shield, the “Divine Realm of Abundance” floating in the dark chaos instantly transformed!

The sunlight bathing the fertile land turned into a bleak, blood-red dusk. The once-rich soil was now a decaying, rotting swamp. From the earth sprouted rusted sickles and grotesquely twisted branches. Polluted blood flowed through the rivers, surging into the withered, dying garden. Swollen, festering monsters dragged horrifying severed limbs and rotting flesh from the blood rivers, placing them on the thorn-covered long table. Alongside it, gaunt, emaciated creatures ravenously tore at the flesh—and even at their own shriveled limbs—in a frenzy of hunger and madness.

At the table’s end, three twisted, hideous figures silently watched this millennia-old feast. Their floral wreaths had turned to thorns; green vines had become bone-piercing chains extending infinitely, as if reaching the very edge of the divine realm. Putrid blood dripped ceaselessly from their pierced bodies, pooling into the garden’s blood river below.

(End of chapter)