Chapter 1564: The Final Answer Has Long Been Revealed

As the Lady of Night rose from her throne, Gawainming immediately sensed a shift in the “atmosphere” around him. This change radiated outward from the throne, spreading swiftly across the vast gray-white desert. The once chaotic yet relatively bright sky darkened abruptly, as if nightfall was descending. The invisible desert winds stilled, and every grain of sand and dust seemed to bow down to the ground. In the distance, the “City of Nightfall” gradually faded into the darkness. Within mere seconds, this expansive shadowy divine realm was reduced to its most stark and elemental scene—

Desert, throne, and before it, the ancient gods and their visitors.

The Lady of Night stood beside the throne, and Gawainming’s gaze was irresistibly drawn to it. A streak of shimmering light caught his eye. He saw the towering backrest of the throne ripple slightly, and then the surface—once carved from massive stone—transformed into a deep, night-like blackness, as if it could swallow and embrace everything. Given the throne’s monumental scale, this darkness seemed to surge toward him like a tangible force.

Then, within that darkness, tiny points of light began to appear… Not only on the throne itself, but also across the sky of this shadowy divine realm, the same starlight began to emerge.

A star map—an immense, staggering star map—centered on the Lady of Night’s throne, began to spread across the entire shadow realm. The desert, once shrouded in a gray-white sky, now seemed to float in boundless space. Nightfall enveloped the horizon, stars filled the view, and between the glittering constellations and the throne’s radiant glow, countless star routes flickered and jumped from one celestial body to another. Numerous markers appeared around the stars, and among them, faint glimmers moved slowly, their light waxing and waning, reflecting the endless flow of time and change.

Under this magnificent celestial tapestry, even Amber—usually the most restless—held her breath. She stared wide-eyed at the sky for several seconds before finally gasping as if just now fully comprehending what she saw. Standing beside her, Gawainming was less stunned but still momentarily speechless before realizing—this was the star map entrusted to the Lady of Night by the Voyagers. This was the star map in its complete form!

Moreover, this star map was dynamic. It wasn’t just a historical record; it was a real-time surveillance image, fed by countless data stations the Voyagers had placed throughout the universe.

“This is the star map left by the Voyagers,” Gawainming murmured to himself after a long pause. “I had imagined what the star map you guard might look like, but I never expected it to be this astonishing…”

“When the star map was first entrusted to me, it wasn’t this vast,” the Lady of Night’s calm, detached voice came from the darkness. “But over the past million years, new data has continuously arrived, and it has gradually expanded from its original size to this scale. The Voyagers have been journeying through the universe, leaving outposts of varying sizes wherever they go. These automated stations transmit data to the ‘star map keeper,’ who continuously sketches the known universe. Meanwhile, autonomous exploration drones roam among the stars, expanding outward from the star map keeper, ultimately forming the star map you see now.

“Today, the Voyager fleet has long since left this sector. Signals from the mothership ceased updating over a hundred thousand years ago, and the autonomous drones ended their missions about a hundred thousand years ago. The star map no longer grows, but over ninety percent of its nodes still transmit real-time local data. So what you see is the true state of this starry sky, every minute, every second.”

Gawainming gazed silently at the stars overhead. After a long while, he finally spoke: “For a civilization just stepping into the cosmos—or about to do so—the value of this star map is simply immeasurable…”

“Yes, an invaluable legacy. Civilizations crawling on a gravity-bound world cannot grasp the worth of the stars, but once they begin to look up, they will naturally understand its meaning,” the Lady of Night said gravely. “And this is not just a star map—it is a navigation license. The Voyagers cannot overly assist primitive civilizations, but even this small help is enough to allow a stumbling civilization to leave its cradle relatively smoothly.”

“…So the civilization receiving this inheritance must be carefully chosen,” Gawainming seemed to understand. “That’s why there are so many trials, and no external help is allowed before maturity…”

“External interference causes a civilization to develop abnormally. And in this world, an abnormally developed civilization is the most terrifying thing,” the Lady of Night’s gaze fixed on Gawainming. “An abnormally developed civilization breeds abnormally developed gods. And if such a god gains access to the knowledge preserved in the star map, you can imagine the disaster that would follow. Remember, gods born during a civilization’s maturation are not bound by the ‘homeworld information loop’ prison.”

Like a great bell tolling in his heart, all the clues suddenly connected. Gawainming now realized why the Lady of Night had gone to such lengths to prevent him from becoming a “god of the stars,” even personally accompanying him through half a century of illusions. He understood the terrifying fate he had narrowly escaped. At the same time, he heard the voice of that ancient god continuing from the sky—

“The last charge the Voyagers left me was about the star map. They told me that if the star map is to be handed to a civilization on the verge of maturity, the ‘representative’ who accepts the inheritance must not be a god—and must never become one…”

Gawainming blinked, now fully grasping the implication. “So if I had failed the binding test of the anchor generator…”

The Lady of Night was silent for a moment, then spoke softly: “Unfortunately, if you had failed, I would have had to keep you here. Because by then you would have already accessed certain core ‘knowledge,’ and your probability of becoming a god would still exist. Keeping you in the shadow realm would be my only way to keep the situation under control if the plan failed.”

Gawainming thought seriously for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Not a very nice method, but reasonable.”

“Yes, reasonable but not kind. However… I actually knew from the start that all this preparation would be useless,” the Lady of Night seemed to smile. “I believe in you, my neighbor. Of course you could pass that so-called ‘test’—though the smoothness of your success exceeded my expectations. Even in my worst predictions, I never truly thought you would fail.”

This time, Gawainming was a little surprised. He looked up at the eyes watching from the sky. “You have that much confidence in me? That sounds like unconditional trust…”

Before the Lady of Night could reply, Amber casually interjected: “Why even doubt it? You’re as tough-willed as anyone I know. When the Sentinels slapped you in the face and the Reverse Tide slammed you to the ground, you didn’t even blink.”

Gawainming turned in surprise to glance at the shadow assault goose beside him, only to see her amber eyes shining brightly beneath the night sky, her face filled with a strange pride and trust—as if she were proud of herself for speaking about him.

He blinked, about to say something, when the Lady of Night’s voice came again: “In any case, everything has been completed smoothly. Although the current situation differs from the Voyagers’ original plan, a civilization has grown to this height.”

“…What exactly did the Voyagers want?” Gawainming quickly gathered his thoughts and asked the question that had long weighed on his mind. “I mean, they made so many arrangements, left so many gifts, and set up a star map keeper like you… There must be a purpose, right? But now their fleet has permanently left this sector, so…”

“The Voyagers… hope that among these stars, there will be another ‘Voyager,’” the Lady of Night said softly. “One who matures by their own strength, who truly steps out of the cradle independently, a new civilization that can set sail from its homeworld just like they did.”

Gawainming was stunned.

“Another ‘Voyager’… that’s their entire wish?” he said in amazement. “They left all these arrangements just hoping a civilization would set sail from its homeworld like them? Wait, but then doesn’t that mean there are already many…”

“Civilizations taken by the Voyager fleet will never truly mature. They are merely travelers embarking on a journey within a larger ‘eternal cradle,’” the Lady of Night said calmly. “The Voyagers do not abandon those seeking help, but even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, these civilizations remain ‘passengers’ within the fleet. They may become advanced, enlightened, capable of commanding starships and roaming the galaxy like the Voyagers, but their collective mindset will always carry an unbroken shackle.

“This mental shackle is like an eternal shadow, constantly chasing these ‘hitchhikers.’ It prevents them from surviving independently outside the fleet for long. And under this shadow’s pursuit, these passengers… can never become Voyagers.”

Listening to the Lady of Night’s words, Gawainming was silent for a long moment. He had come to a clear understanding. Deep within, the ancient race known as the Voyagers—shrouded in mystery and legend—finally took on a faintly discernible shape. After this brief silence, he suddenly heard the Lady of Night’s voice again, softly reciting a short poem—

“…Do not be intoxicated by this illusory tranquil long night… The nightfall will eventually be broken…

“…Do not be lulled by your warm cradle… The cradle will one day overturn…

“…Do not slumber in the sanctuary of your soul… The sanctuary will sooner or later become an unbreakable shackle…

“Set forth, before the stars begin to twinkle, set forth, before the long night ends…

“If you do not hurry, the daylight will arrive…”

Gawainming suddenly looked up. “I’ve heard this poem before—in the fragments left by the Voyagers…”

“This is also what the Voyagers left behind for this world—but unlike the star map, it is not a ‘formal’ legacy,” the Lady of Night said slowly. “It was composed by a Voyager poet during their final glance back at this planet before withdrawing from the Sky Station. The poem was recorded by the Sky Station and later entered my database. You can see it as the heartfelt expression of a poet, or as a hope and warning for this world.”

Amber’s eyes widened in surprise. “A poet? The Voyagers had poets too?”

“Why not?” the Lady of Night laughed. “Poets, singers, painters… Culture and art belong to every civilization. The Voyagers were just a civilization wandering the star seas—they were mortals. Always remember that.”

Gawainming stood thoughtfully to the side. Over many years, he had pondered this short poem from various angles. His understanding of it had evolved greatly as his knowledge of this world deepened, and as his awareness of the magical tides and divine calamities became clearer. The meaning of this poem was no longer what it once was.

“At first, I thought the various images in this poem were merely metaphors for the endless comings and goings of mortal life, or perhaps misguided paths taken by some dark cults. But now… it seems every line actually points to civilization as a whole, and to the stars themselves,” he said suddenly, breaking his silence in thought. “The ‘illusory tranquil long night’—that must be the calm intervals between the magical tides, right?”

Behind the thin veil of mist, the Lady of Night nodded gently.

“And the ‘warm cradle’… that must be the nurturing homeworld, the planet with just the right conditions,” he continued. “Though the homeworld is comfortable and livable, a single planet is so fragile in the vast universe. A civilization confined forever to its homeworld would be toppled in the blink of an eye by cosmic disasters from the depths of space, isn’t that so?”

“As for the ‘sanctuary of the soul’… I once thought it referred to some kind of spiritual anesthesia, a mistaken escape from reality. But after learning the secrets of the gods, I realized it actually means the ‘current of thought’ itself! Mortals seek refuge through faith in the gods, and the gods are born from mortal thought to protect the world. This is the true ‘sanctuary born of the soul,’ which will inevitably become a spiritual seal, right?”

The Lady of Night murmured in admiration, “Everything is exactly as you say.”

“The calm between the magical tides, the necessity of maturity, the hidden dangers of thought currents… the ultimate answers were actually laid before us from the very beginning,” he finally exhaled softly. Though these revelations no longer held much practical guidance for him, a strange sense of relief welled up deep inside. At the same time, he felt a surge of emotion. “It’s just that until today, we’ve only now begun to read their true meaning from these lines…”

“The Voyager who left this poem behind never truly intended it as a warning to the world—at its core, it’s just a poet’s reflection on a long and arduous journey.”

Gently nodding, he then asked, “What about the final part of the poem? That’s the only part I still can’t quite grasp… I suspect the ‘twinkling stars’ refer to the arrival of the magical tide, but why describe it that way?”

The Lady of Night was silent for a moment before answering softly, “The magical tide itself is formless and intangible. But when it sweeps past a star or a gas giant, the visible changes in light become the last scene a mortal sees before death—the ‘phantom celestial body’ formed by high-energy gas clouds and surges of magic ‘reflects’ the shadow of the magical tide. This shadow usually appears bright red or orange-yellow, accompanied by violent releases of magical energy.

“These light and shadow changes on the surface of stars or gas giants can only be observed from relatively close range, but the intense magical energy bursts can be clearly detected from several light-years, even hundreds or thousands of light-years away. So if the magical tide is rushing straight toward an observer, they would first see the surface of their nearest ‘sun’ stained blood-red with the naked eye. At the same time, if they use magical sight to observe the sky, every star would be flickering wildly. When the magical tide reaches its peak, these violent changes can even make the entire night sky ‘brighten’—though this is only visible through magical sight.

“Considering the magical tide travels slightly slower than light and has structures like ‘pre-shocks,’ ‘aftershocks,’ and ‘boundary interference,’ this scene actually unfolds at a moment just before the end.

“This is the true meaning behind the ‘twinkling stars’ and the ‘coming of daylight’—the final vision a powerless mortal can witness before being wiped out by the magical tide.”

(End of chapter)