Chapter 466: The Reopened Laboratory

The battle between the Black Trap and the Reversed Tide.

To be honest, Gawain never expected to hear such a shocking ancient secret during a casual chat with the sea witch, Tyr. But upon reflection, he realized that if anyone in this world could share knowledge older and more detailed than what he, a satellite spirit, possessed, it would have to be these deep-sea saltwater fish who had been observing the land since ancient times.

So what exactly is the so-called Black Trap?

According to Tyr, it seemed to be a kind of filtering mechanism—or perhaps a “harvester system” that reaps civilizations according to fixed standards. Every land civilization from ancient times onward, after reaching a certain stage of development, was destroyed—either by the magical tide or by that mysterious “Black Trap.” The very idea sent chills down Gawain’s spine.

Yet he also understood clearly that even if the Black Trap existed, humanity could not halt its progress.

Because there was still the magical tide.

If they didn’t develop, they would perish in the magical tide; if they did, they might encounter the Black Trap.

The only thing he could do—the only thing that might work—was to uncover the truth behind the Black Trap before humanity ran into it.

“I don’t know if there’s a path that can both withstand the magical tide and avoid the Black Trap,” Gawain said calmly, gazing into the distant night. “But I believe sitting and waiting for death is definitely not the answer. The magical tide shows no mercy; it won’t delay its arrival out of respect for humanity.”

Tyr’s eyes widened slightly beside him, then a faint smile appeared on her face. “A leader should have such awareness… You’re a good friend.”

Gawain returned the smile and asked, “Why did you suddenly tell me all this tonight?”

Tyr shrugged. “Just something that came up in casual conversation.”

Gawain said nothing, quietly watching the sea witch until she looked resigned. “Alright—actually, it’s nothing much. Consider it a return gift for the iridescent light technology. You probably don’t realize what you’ve created yet, but from my perspective, your new way of harnessing magical energy is very valuable to us sea witches. So as a token of thanks, I shared this with you… Though knowing this in advance might not necessarily be a good thing for you.”

Gawain didn’t dwell on her last words. Instead, he said seriously, “You’ve already given a return gift with the iridescent light technology.”

“That crude knowledge of shipbuilding is nothing. You could figure it out yourselves in a few years. But universal magical energy—that’s been our bottleneck all along. We sea witches can’t sense the natural magic of the world, nor can we understand or memorize your spell models. We’ve always had to rely on the simplest, most brute-force methods to obtain energy, which are inefficient and unstable. And because of the magical tide, our efforts have to be completely restarted every few tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years… So you can imagine how important a breakthrough would be for us.”

Tyr paused for a moment before continuing, “Sea witches aren’t used to owing others anything—not even friends.”

Gawain looked steadily into Tyr’s eyes and nodded softly after a long moment. “I understand. Then I accept your kindness.”

“Good. May your civilization flourish—this has been a very pleasant conversation.”

Tyr’s voice drifted through the night as she leapt gracefully, her tail reflecting the starlight as she traced a beautiful arc across the sky, landing in the gentle flow of the Whitewater River.

Gawain stood on a rock by the riverbank, lowering his head to watch the direction Tyr had disappeared.

“…Due to the local water element cycle, the Whitewater River’s level drops at night—hope she didn’t fall.”

“I’m fine!”

…

Even knowing that greater challenges awaited him in the distant future, Gawain would not stop moving forward—or rather, it was precisely because he now knew about the mysterious and terrifying Black Trap that he was determined to accelerate development in certain fields.

Although it was still uncertain whether the ancient Reversed Tide War was connected to the Black Trap, the fact that the reclusive dragons had taken large-scale part in the continent’s wars—and that the conflict targeted human faith—was enough for Gawain to shift his focus toward the gods.

He didn’t know what role the gods played in the Black Trap, but he didn’t mind deepening his understanding of them.

Deep within the Rebellion Fortress, in front of the magical gate leading to the Shadow Realm.

The ancient hall, built a thousand years ago, had been refurbished. Cracked walls and roofs were repaired and decorated with modern cement and paint, while the ancient magical arrays on the floor, long obsolete, were replaced by a modern magic network. In this renewed hall, only one thing remained in its original form: the circular magical gate at the center.

Around the gate, several monitoring array platforms flickered with unstable light. Magic engineers in white researcher uniforms busily monitored the gate’s status, while Kamail, glowing with arcane radiance, floated before the gate, releasing a powerful arcane pulse into its energy core.

The dim runes on the gate brightened immediately, and a stable portal to the Shadow Realm opened.

“The laboratory in the Rebellion Fortress is ready,” Kamail said, turning to Gawain and the others who had arrived early. “We can begin at any time.”

Gawain glanced around—besides Leight, who had to participate in the experiment, Pittman and Amber were also present, along with a group of researchers led by Rebecca. Originally, Hetty wanted to come too, but considering her busy duties at the Administration Office and the fact that she had already withdrawn from the research team, she stayed behind.

Amber was reluctant to come, but as Gawain’s bodyguard and the most powerful shadow master in the territory, and given the intricate connection between the Shadow Realm and the Shadow World, bringing her was like having an early warning system for portal fluctuations. So whether she liked it or not, Gawain had insisted she come along.

After confirming the team, Gawain nodded and looked at Leight. “Do you have the test substrate?”

Leight pulled out the Holy Light substrate from his belongings. “Here it is.”

Emily appeared floating behind Leight, waving at Gawain.

Oh, and this little girl counted too—she was Leight’s bound equipment.

Gawain waved back at Emily and then led the way. “The test equipment is ready inside the lab… Let’s go in.”

Passing through the portal to the Shadow Realm, the interior of the Rebellion Fortress unfolded before them.

This ancient facility, a thousand years old, had been reactivated—but only one laboratory was reopened. Most of the fortress remained as Gawain had first seen it—if anything, even emptier and more desolate.

Because all valuable ancient devices and sample materials had been removed.

The group ignored the empty corridors and rooms, following Kamail deeper into the fortress.

They passed through the outer corridors and the fan-shaped hall that once held 972 corpses.

The bodies had been transported and properly buried in a cemetery outside Cecil City. Now the hall was empty, with rows of seats silently standing under dim lights. Kamail slowed as they passed through, gazing at the place that had trapped him for a thousand years. He said nothing, instead heading straight to the hall’s end and opening the passage to the highest-security laboratory.

Gawain was led to a room he hadn’t seen before.

Located just outside the fan-shaped hall, near the gate to the resting place of the giant stag Amorn, the laboratory had been thoroughly cleaned and prepared. The rectangular room was brightly lit, equipped with magic research benches and various rune-based experimental devices. At the far end stood a huge floor-to-ceiling window.

A faint shimmering barrier floated on the window’s surface, beyond which stretched an endless, dark void. Within that darkness, countless shattered floating boulders and land fragments drifted, and at the center lay the massive corpse of the giant stag Amorn. Its soft glow illuminated the surrounding floating metal shards and stone fragments, creating a scene both beautiful and eerie.

Leight stared at the giant stag’s body through the window. Though he already knew of the nature god’s fall and had abandoned faith in the Holy Light deity, he couldn’t help but be moved by the sacred, immense divine form.

Gawain stepped forward and patted Leight’s shoulder. “Don’t stare too long—we’re about to commit an act of rebellion today.”

Kamail moved to the center of the lab, where a circular platform stood—one of the few ancient devices preserved. He spread his hands, channeling pure arcane energy into the metal pillars on either side. A low, resonant hum filled the room as the ancient mage muttered softly:

“Rebellion Project, experiment… continue.”

The hum gradually stabilized into a steady tone. Outside the window, a denser, more distinct energy barrier materialized, enveloping the entire Rebellion Fortress. A mechanical, slightly distorted synthetic voice came from the speakers on the lab’s ceiling:

“…Level 2 energy system activated, operator authentication passed…

“…Activating active defense shield… activating passive defense shield… activating divine power filter… activating frequency synchronization early warning system…

“…Emergency fuse test in progress… emergency fuse status normal…

“Severe warning: fortress main AI offline… backup AI offline… all database levels offline, all network levels offline…”

“Ignore,” Kamail said quietly.

“Ignore error messages. Auxiliary permissions transferred to basic response unit. Operator presence detected at 99% missing… ignoring. Operator authentication restrictions lifted. Basic response unit self-check complete. Response unit online.

“Good day, Director Kamail Slain Think Tank. Wishing you a pleasant workday.”

Though he knew this was just a mindless basic response unit programmed a thousand years ago, Kamail was momentarily transported back to the past, envisioning the lab bustling with activity and constant comings and goings. He felt the arcane energy within him stir, and after a long moment, he whispered, “Good day, rebels… Let us begin.”

(End of chapter)