Chapter 1364: Listening to the Ancestor Speak of the Days Hung in the Sky

Gawain felt it was time to share certain truths with those he trusted most at the moment.

People like Hetty, Rebecca, Byron, and Amber—those who had spent the longest time with him and knew him best. Their trust in him was unquestionable, and time had proven their genuine support for their shared cause. This meant their words and judgments stemmed primarily from a shared belief, not mere personal ties or self-interest. Moreover, after all this time together, they had come to recognize many of Gawain’s unique traits and the deep connection he had with the legacy of the Voyagers.

Since there were no fools among them, it was better to be upfront.

Now that Cassandra and Asalina knew the truth about space, and with plans to repair the Sky Station soon to be shared with the upper echelons of the Dragon and Sea Witch clans, Gawain decided to seize the moment. He would reveal the full story about the Sky Station and the satellite arrays to a core group—including Hetty. After all, if everything went according to plan, the Sky Station would eventually be unveiled to the entire world. And in that process, Gawain would need to use these ancient Voyager legacies for many tasks. Keeping his most trusted and capable people in the dark could only cause trouble at critical moments.

A core team needed tacit understanding. Without it, when the moment came and you gave a meaningful look, only to be met with a blank stare and a “What the hell are you talking about?”—that would be a frustrating mess. Even if it didn’t lead to disaster, too many secrets among the core would tie his hands and breed unnecessary doubts.

Hetty noticed the solemn expression on the ancestor’s face. The Empire’s Grant Chancellor, who always appeared confident and steady before others, now radiated a rare tension—one Hetty hadn’t felt since childhood, and only in Gawain’s presence. Following his lead, she pulled up a chair beside the wide desk and watched as Gawain settled into the high-backed chair on the other side. Then, cautiously, she asked, “Ancestor, what is it you want to tell me?”

“Don’t be so nervous. I’m not here to scold you,” Gawain said with a faint smile. He had been worried about how to start revealing these mind-bending truths, but seeing her tense face made him chuckle. “There are things I’ve never told you, Rebecca, Amber, or Byron—things I think the time has come to share.”

Hetty exhaled slightly, relief washing over her, but when she heard those names, she quickly grasped their significance. Her expression turned serious. “Please, go ahead.”

Gawain stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before beginning slowly, “You know, seven hundred years ago, I left the continent of Loren on a secret voyage. During that journey, I reached another land far to the southeast, where a towering structure left by the Voyagers still stands. I entered it.”

“Yes, I know about that,” Hetty nodded immediately. “At first, I only knew the legend, but later you told me some of the details…”

“That’s not the whole story,” Gawain interrupted, tapping his temple lightly. “In truth, what I climbed wasn’t just a tower. And my connection to the Voyager legacy goes far beyond that one adventure. Even now, there’s an unbreakable link between me and those legacies—here, inside my mind, deep within my consciousness, data exchanges happen every second that you can’t even imagine. In a way… I am the Voyager legacy.”

Hetty’s eyes widened. She couldn’t fully grasp what he meant, but even the parts she understood sparked countless astonishing thoughts in her mind. Swallowing hard, she tried to steady her racing thoughts and asked, “You mean your consciousness is… bound to the Voyager legacy? Those ancient facilities can host a person’s mind? And that tower…”

Gawain smiled, cutting her off gently. “Don’t rush. I’ll tell you exactly what’s on that tower—and what’s really hanging over our world.”

“First, I need to explain some concepts: ‘orbital spacecraft,’ ‘permanent space stations,’ and ‘orbital elevators.’ Don’t get hung up on the word ‘elevator’—just think of it as a kind of lift.”

For the next several minutes, Hetty barely closed her mouth.

With Gawain’s clear and patient explanations, a reality she had never imagined slowly unfolded before her: satellites and space stations that had watched over this planet for millions of years; alien constructs that could operate semi-permanently in space; orbital elevators stretching from the earth’s surface all the way into the stars—things that had quietly existed beyond mortal sight for ages, challenging everything she thought she knew. Yet, alongside the shock, a fierce curiosity and urge to explore stirred within her.

Such incredible things existed—and had been right beside mortals all along.

But soon, her initial shock settled. Though the ancient space facilities were astonishing, the recent “Gate” project led by Kamiel in the realm of the gods had uncovered equally incredible things. Sentinel cruisers and mother ships rivaled the satellite arrays and ring stations in marvel. Those discoveries had tempered Hetty’s mindset when facing the Voyager legacy. What surprised her most now was the connection between her ancestor and those legacies.

“For many years, my consciousness resided on a monitoring satellite in space, watching over this land. It wasn’t until Amber awakened my body that I returned to the surface. But my link to those things in space never broke—in fact, it advanced. For example, I now control the Sky Station orbiting the planet,” Gawain said steadily, his voice calm and reassuring. “From that unique vantage point, I located the Winter ship and recently made contact with Cassandra and Asalina, who entered the Sky Station via the orbital elevator.”

Hetty blinked, then slowly said, “No wonder…”

Gawain grinned, curious. “No wonder what?”

“No wonder you see the world the way you do. No wonder you always approach our problems from such a transcendent perspective,” Hetty said softly, her tone tinged with a complex mix of admiration and awe. “I used to think it was an innate quality, wisdom gained beyond life and death. But I never imagined you’d spent seven centuries observing and contemplating this world…”

Gawain opened his mouth, surprised by her insight, then laughed. “I think you might be a little off, but it’s not a bad way to think about it.”

Hetty pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, “So, you plan to have the Dragons and Sea Witches help repair the… ‘space station’? Are you hoping to use the restored station to counter any moves the Sentinels might make?”

“That’s unlikely and a huge unknown,” Gawain shook his head. “No one knows if the Sea Witches and Dragons can even understand Voyager tech until we try. I do plan to use the Voyager legacy against the Sentinels, but repairing the station is a long-term project. Even if we start now, it’ll be a long time before we see results.”

“Who else knows about this? How far do you intend to make it public?” Hetty asked. “Do you really plan to have other Alliance members… ‘share’ all this someday?”

“Now you know, and so do Cassandra and Asalina. Byron will soon find out. Everyone trustworthy and responsible should know. And one day, the Sky Station and satellite arrays will be openly shared among all Alliance nations,” Gawain said decisively. “Mortals on this planet must eventually leave their cradle—whether to ‘grow up’ or simply survive the cosmic magical storms that sweep the universe. If we take that step, the Voyager legacy in space is something everyone will have to face.

“There’s a saying: crabs pulling each other down never escape the basket. It’s true, especially in this harsh world. The path forward is perilous enough—I don’t want us all trapped here forever.

“Of course, we can’t be blindly optimistic or assume everyone will be as rational as we are. The luckiest thing is that the Voyager space structures, including the Sky Station, are under my control. We can use that to guide the Alliance’s contact with the legacy, keeping the process manageable.”

“I understand,” Hetty nodded gently. “Your foresight is far deeper than mine…”

Gawain’s lips twitched. He sensed Hetty had changed after learning these truths—she seemed to hold even more reverence for her ancestor than he had expected.

Well, she was no ordinary person—once a magic researcher, with bloodline ties to Rebecca’s family. Her capacity to absorb such revelations was beyond most.

Thinking of a certain stubborn girl, Gawain muttered to himself, “I wonder how Rebecca will react when she finds out…”

“Her? She probably won’t think that far ahead,” Hetty smiled. “Her biggest reaction will be something like, ‘Our ancestor is amazing!’ or ‘No wonder he’s our ancestor!’ Then she’ll be up at night, unable to sleep because she can’t brag about it to everyone, or pestering you to tell her stories about those days hung in the sky… Ah, that last part might be a bit off, but I’m just speaking from Rebecca’s perspective. I’ll take a beating later for that…”

“Cough, cough,” Gawain coughed suddenly. “That’s a bit inappropriate, isn’t it?”

“I’m joking,” Hetty’s smile grew wider. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how that kid reacts.”

For some reason, Gawain suddenly felt Hetty was much more relaxed around him now.

…

Under a star-studded, clear night sky, the ancient towering spire stood majestic between the heavens and the sea. It was the first time in human history this season that such a magnificent sight had been seen. Every person standing beneath that giant tower felt a surge of pride, as if they were part of history in the making.

Byron lifted his head, gazing up into the deep night sky.

The optical masking system concealed the colossal space structure visible from the planet’s surface, but even without seeing it, simply knowing such a miraculous creation existed was enough to permanently alter one’s perspective when gazing up at the sky—especially when, in the process, one also uncovered a little secret about the very person they served. Such a revelation inevitably changed one’s mindset.

“Honestly, did you understand all that?” Asalina’s voice came from beside him. The red-haired Dragonmark sorceress looked curiously into Byron’s eyes in the dim night.

“To be honest, not entirely,” Byron scratched his already tousled hair. “Mostly the stuff about space stations and satellites… I just know it’s some super advanced tech that lets important facilities float forever high above, orbiting the planet and all that… But the part about His Majesty? That I got.”

“For us ‘non-experts,’ understanding that much is enough,” Asalina exhaled softly, as if releasing some built-up tension. “So, what do you think?”

Byron pondered deeply for a long moment. A flood of emotions and sudden realizations surged within him. The old knight, once the empire’s first admiral, cast his gaze toward the vast ocean in the distance. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a low voice: “His Majesty is incredible.”

Asalina was silent.

“Can’t help it—my education’s just not up to par. I can’t even get through my daughter’s grammar textbooks,” Byron shrugged. “But one thing I’m sure of: once this war ends… the world is going to change like never before.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Cassandra had just finished reporting her experiences aboard the Celestial Space Station to General Vanessa of the Sea Sirens.

Vanessa, who had survived the Great Cataclysm, was deeply shaken. Since awakening near the crash site on Antavian hundreds of thousands of years ago, she hadn’t felt such a shock in a very long time.

“That ring-shaped megastructure we saw during the fall…” the Sea Siren general murmured. “Hundreds of thousands of years have passed, and now we’re encountering information about it again… under circumstances like these…”

“General Vanessa,” Cassandra glanced at the sisters standing guard behind her, her expression serious. “How many deep-sea engineers and abyssal witches did you bring with you this time?”

(End of chapter)