Chapter 851: The Eye of God

As he listened to Meigaoer III’s description of the ancient ruins, Gawain gradually sank into deep thought.

An ancient underground facility, clearly distinct from the architectural style of the Gondor Empire, filled with incomprehensible archaic technology, and housing “samples” related to the gods… all these features stirred a strange sense of familiarity within him.

Then Meigaoer revealed another clue that confirmed this feeling.

“Another point,” the deep voice emanated from the starry aggregation, “the ruins we discovered beneath Orlandel seem stylistically connected to those found by the End of All Things sect in the Solin region. They appear to be two facilities built by the same civilization, influenced by different historical periods or regional cultures. But because the ruins are so ancient and lack key evidence, we spent many years unable to determine their exact relationship, let alone decipher the ancient technology within…”

Gawain suddenly inhaled softly. “The Legacy of the Reverse Tide…”

Meigaoer clearly hadn’t heard the term before and instinctively asked, “Your Majesty? What did you say?”

“The ruins you found, and the crypt beneath Solin held by the End of All Things sect, both likely originate from an ancient civilization called the ‘Reverse Tide.’ It was utterly destroyed in a war against the dragons, and this empire had countless intricate ties to the gods.”

He thought of the “Ultimate Tome” Beltira had entrusted to him—a legacy of the Reverse Tide Empire. Its purpose was to forge keys and communicate with satellite databases orbiting the planet. Moreover, according to Beltira’s clues, deep within the collapsed sections of the Solin crypt, there were rooms corrupted and polluted by indescribable forces—rooms clearly connected to the gods.

And now, new evidence suggested that the old capital of the Typhon Empire, beneath which the Sleeper sect had taken root, was very likely the second surviving Reverse Tide ruin in the world!

Meigaoer hadn’t expected Gawain to pierce the mystery of the ruins with a single phrase—what had taken the Sleepers centuries to unravel seemed like common knowledge to Gawain. But soon he recalled the true identity behind this seemingly human emperor and his shock gradually faded.

Gawain didn’t press further on the Reverse Tide Empire. After all, he only knew so much. Instead, he looked at Meigaoer and steered the conversation back: “You have some understanding of the crypt occupied by the End of All Things sect as well?”

Meigaoer answered immediately, “We cooperate with them to some extent, sharing some less critical information.”

“Hm,” Gawain nodded. “Then back to the ancient ruins you discovered—what happened after that? Was the Typhon royal family in Orlandel kept in the dark?”

“The ruins are buried very deep, and the entrances to the surface have almost all been swallowed by earth and stone. Finding the entrance was pure luck. Once we realized it was an excellent hiding place, we moved personnel and supplies inside, modifying and concealing the entrance to make it even harder to find. For many years afterward, we carefully hid ourselves and the underground facility.

“The Sleepers are masters of concealment. As you guessed, for centuries… the Augustus family didn’t even know we were hiding right under their noses, nor what secrets lay beneath their city.

“We are the shadow and symbiote beneath Orlandel, rooted and growing alongside the city, infiltrating many of its facilities. There, among those ancient halls and corridors, the once-devastated order slowly regained its strength. At first, we gathered in the shallower layers of the ruins—safer and large enough for all our members at the time. But as the order recovered, we decided to venture deeper.

“We wanted to at least understand what our ‘home’ really looked like.

“We quickly explored the safe dome area and the nearly empty mid-level connecting corridors. Finally, in the deepest part of the ruins, we found… something still operational.”

Gawain’s expression immediately grew serious. “Something still running? What was it?”

“Allow me to show you what I saw back then—”

Meigaoer’s voice lowered as the amorphous starry form began to dissipate, transforming into a mist. Within the hazy smoke, Gawain saw a holographic image—a magical illusion—quickly extracted and replayed from Meigaoer’s memory.

He saw a vast circular hall, surrounded by massive ring-shaped structures made of metal and crystal. Numerous black obelisk-like devices were tilted and arranged inside the hall, their tips pointing toward the center. At the very center, a dazzling, ocean-like mass of light surged within a ring of ancient devices. It looked like a viscous liquid, but as it rose, it shimmered with an ethereal glow. Inside, star-like specks moved and flickered continuously.

Gawain frowned. “What is that?”

From the surrounding mist came Meigaoer’s voice: “A powerful energy containment device, composed of an astonishing magnetic field, circulating arcane energy, and a series of elemental stabilizers. It’s so vast that the entire hall and some adjacent corridors form its ‘shell.’”

The former pontiff paused, then added, “It took us nearly a century to understand the general ‘functional components.’”

“…At the center of the containment field lies the remains of the God of Dreams?” Gawain frowned. “Is this a prison device?”

“We thought so too… and that was one of our greatest mistakes,” Meigaoer said gravely. “After discovering this area, we couldn’t grasp its purpose. We assumed it was the ruins’ power source, like a mana well in a wizard’s tower. We studied it cautiously, spending a century to understand its rough function, but found the technology impossible to replicate or harness. Of course, we dared not shut it down, as no one knew what consequences that might bring.

“Years later, we finally found ways to control the energy flow. During one attempt to adjust it, a tiny fissure opened at the core of the containment field—the thing sealed inside leaked a faint breath. I was present at the scene.

“In that breath, I sensed some terrifying yet familiar ‘voices’—”

Meigaoer’s voice trembled and hesitated, as if the horror still haunted his now-altered body and mind. After a moment of composure, he steadied his tone and continued:

“I sensed the presence of a god.

“A staggering truth shook us all—the thing ‘imprisoned’ within the containment field was none other than a god we once worshipped and revered, or rather, a fragment of that god…

“It was a shard of the God of Dreams. We don’t know where it came from, what force could sever a piece from a god’s very being, or how long it had been trapped in that device. We only know one thing—that terrifying, maddening god, destined to consume the world, could be harmed and imprisoned.

“After the Ancestor’s Peak incident, everyone was shrouded in long-lasting despair. The gods’ power was so immense that mortals could never hope to oppose it. At the same time, that power was on an unstoppable, maddening path, like a doomsday countdown. Yet the device we found underground seemed to offer a glimmer of hope—that was a fragment of a god! Imprisoned and available for study!

“Overcoming our fear, we began to research it.

“The containment field’s immense power blocked the god’s spiritual corruption, making research possible. But it was precisely these properties that led us to a terrible, mistaken conclusion—we thought the entire underground facility was a prison, and that the containment device was meant to trap the god.”

Gawain was about to ask when Amber, standing nearby, broke the silence: “Isn’t that true?”

“Absolutely not. That thing… is actually an altar.

“An altar to welcome the god, to communicate with the god, and to provide a temporary vessel for the god—the so-called vessel is the containment field in the hall.

“The god’s will ‘descends’ in the form of a fragment at the center of the containment field, like a disembodied eye. The God of Dreams observes the world through that eye, and we have been busy for centuries under its watchful gaze.”

Amber gasped, “Holy hell…”

Even Gawain felt a chill creep up his spine. He could fully imagine how terrifying this truth was—so much so that Meigaoer’s voice trembled whenever he spoke of it.

“You mean everything you did was watched by the God of Dreams?” Gawain asked solemnly, his brow furrowed as he looked at the reformed Meigaoer.

“Fortunately, the ‘Eye of God’ in the device isn’t connected to the god’s true form in real time,” Meigaoer said with a complicated tone. “The ‘Eye’ inside is more like a splintered avatar. It collects information in the mortal world, and once it reaches a certain point, the polarity of the containment core reverses, releasing the fragment back to the divine realm. Only then does the God of Dreams learn what the ‘Eye’ has seen. The containment device we found is either too ancient or damaged, so it has never released the ‘Eye’ at its core.

“In a way, the malfunctioning device is indeed a prison… but unlike a real prison, the ‘prisoner’ inside is theoretically the master of the prison, and the gates could open at any time due to system self-repair.

“You can imagine how terrifying that is for us.”

“I can,” Gawain nodded gently. “But I’m curious—how did you discover this truth? Was there an instruction manual next to the ancient device?”

Meigaoer was silent for a moment, the starry form pulsing slowly. “Your Majesty, do you know how I came to look like this?”

Gawain raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it to extend your life by transforming your form?”

“At the time, I had already extended my lifespan using technology provided by the End of All Things sect—I could have lived for several more centuries,” Meigaoer sighed. “What changed me into this form was an experimental accident.

“Due to a misoperation of the energy flow, I was struck by a beam emitted from the containment field. The beam destroyed my body, but the field’s immense power trapped my soul. I was swept into the raging energies and… briefly came into contact with the ‘Eye of God’ bound at the core.”

Gawain’s eyes widened in understanding. “The knowledge of the gods forcibly imprints itself—you ‘saw’ the truth of the device through the God of Dreams’ fragment?”

“Yes,” King Megor III confirmed Gawain’s suspicion. “The moment I came into contact with the ‘Eye of God,’ I understood the truth behind the device—and the terrible consequences if the Eye were ever released back to the divine realm. All our secrets would be laid bare before the gods, and they would never tolerate such defiance.

“Fortunately, I ‘survived’ that dreadful accident. Thanks to the timely intervention of my comrades in the order, my soul was freed before it could be completely annihilated. But it was severely twisted and mutated in the process—ever since that day, I’ve looked like this.

“Yet, compared to the truth of the Eye of God, my soul’s mutation is nothing. We must eliminate the threat it poses—either destroy it utterly or sever its connection to the divine realm forever, so it can never return to the Dream God.”

(End of chapter)