Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2522: Chapter 2517: Seeking Truth at Dawn

Its bones are still warm.

With a gentle leap back to its old position, without touching it, one can feel the spot where Lady Nepheli once sat, still emanating faint warmth.

It is indeed a human skeleton, though somewhat incomplete.

Additionally, from the stacked form, it can be vaguely distinguished that, unlike the knees-clasped pose in Engraving Wisdom, this posture is more solemn.

It’s said that with that one’s style, even if something sought for years was right before them, they wouldn’t pose like a child in front of themselves.

And the only relatively complete skull gives an even more twisted feeling.

It’s as if the internal brain swelled from heat, causing cranial pressure to increase to unbearable levels, ultimately squeezing everything out of shape.

Of course, the flickering tongues of flame have vanished from all the remains at this moment; they’re only flowing on the surface and even inside, which is why there’s an "shiny" kind of visual sensation.

In summary, everything still seems fairly clear.

Perhaps the historical error we just experienced isn’t entirely credible, but there’s a high probability that these are indeed the remains of Lady Nepheli.

Having heard the truth... maybe when she discovered this place, she was already exploring how to use it to verify the reality of the world.

No matter what kind of price she needed to pay.

And finally, she indeed died here, turning into a pile of white bones.

Furthermore, why is there such a bustle on Moore’s side today? The whole process seems quite clear too—

Nepheli borrowed a Fire of Madness from her side, although it ignited herself.

But even as just an illumination, the Wise Dead could hardly endure it, making the whole situation more active than before.

This activity triggered reactions from various sides, including Sorondir, who treated the anomaly on Moore’s side as his own opportunity, and the Siren’s actions were also incited.

And this change further triggered Yasui’s reaction, thus the Greedy Worms were brought in as outsourced cannon fodder.

Consequently, the Greedy Worm’s tracks attracted the Predators.

It’s a pity, though, that because Sorondir has not yet achieved anything, the entire chain is stuck here.

The worms don’t move, and the bats can’t find the worms.

Until someone secretly hitched a ride, it activated everything at once.

...

The world is bustling; it seems Sorondir is quite the fierce man.

Swiftly "straightening out" the current situation, at that moment, Fu Qian let out an alternative sigh.

Not because that one’s presence is astonishing, having a group of people accompanying him leveling up, but for the courage of risking everything in the flames.

The series of events above seems to logically flow smoothly, but in reality, a very important point is ignored—the temporal sequence.

Fu Qian remembers very clearly, it hasn’t been a few days since Nepheli asked for that Fire of Madness.

Yet, according to Selana and the worms, Sorondir’s wandering began noticeably earlier than that.

This point alone is enough to undercut the entire logical chain.

The beginning of this series of events doesn’t seem to be Nepheli’s quest for truth?

In other words, Sorondir likely embarked on this action without a very active Wise Dead or the appearance of an opportunity to upgrade.

He was the initial driving force; it’s just that luck seemed a bit off, and in the end, he really benefited from Lady Nepheli’s light.

As for why he had to make this attempt at such a special moment without discovering an opportunity?

Reasons are not very clear for now, but this perseverance can be considered more exaggerated than acting upon discovering an opportunity.

Even with such persistence, the time gained was less than five minutes.

In the midst of sighs, Fu Qian meticulously observed Nepheli’s remains once more.

Unfortunately, besides the fact it won’t burn for much longer, and the Wise Dead might quiet down soon, it seems the senior had no intention to gather a lifetime of knowledge into a tome, leaving no further information.

It makes sense, just like previously mentioned, for Nepheli, everything before her could have been just an illusion.

Besides the universally redeeming Grand Fate Ming Emperor, who else would be bored enough to leave information for an NPC that might disappear anytime?

Unfortunate, there were still many technical issues to discuss with this senior.

Hope she truly found the answers, which would somewhat justify this regret.

As for now, it seems I can only rely on myself.

Finally shifting his gaze, Fu Qian took two steps forward, sitting down alongside the remains, looking into the distance.

...

Let’s go through it from the beginning.

Back then, the Academy’s exploration team received a certain piece of news—that Moore’s Wise Dead could guide one to the probable Inverted Lake located in the Sea of Ashes, maybe even knowing how to use it.

Sadly, they knew but couldn’t find it, whereas in years later Nepheli, already had found but no longer wanted to know.

Of course, current regrets aside, if such a connection really exists, how could it be established?

The answer is difficult to determine; one must be practical.

Then from another perspective, why could such a connection exist?

At the Inverted Lake, the exploration team likely discovered an ancient research organization and were cursed by what those involved were studying.

And recently, on mapping the Sea of Ashes’ coordinates, we even encountered a research organization within Engraving Wisdom.

Even Lady Nepheli, when asking about the fire, questioned whether the Academy wasn’t the only self-destructive organization, clearly knowing something.

Combining the three, assuming there indeed exists another academy linked with so-called Inverted Lake, establishing a research facility amidst the Sea of Ashes avoided by mortals.

Then in distant Moore, a Miracle Creature containing the method to find a research facility, might be for what reason?

One can only say, compared to a coincidence in characteristics, a heavy whiff of human manipulation seems to be detected—was it really to guide?

At a certain moment, Fu Qian turned his head to look at the Lighthouse behind him.

...

Indeed thoughts should return to simplicity.

Isn’t the Lighthouse a classic guiding element?

It doesn’t even need to be deliberately created, like crafting Miracle Creatures or anything.

Like Lady Nepheli now, back then the research individuals discovered the Wise Dead, and naturally considered how to utilize it, it’s imaginable development.

Even if not mistaken—

Fu Qian stood up, taking a step directly into the lamp room, carefully observing the central part of the Lighthouse.

There really is...

As a symbolic structure, even down to replicating the Lighthouse’s lens so exquisitely, isn’t it a bit unorthodox?

Indeed, what Fu Qian considered is straightforward, typically aside from the light source, lighthouses have other critical parts.

A lens made of transparent material... though it doesn’t seem like the crystal imagined.

Stretching out his hand, Fu Qian didn’t rush to crush it and see if what’s imagined exists inside.

Instead, magnificent golden brilliance surged from him, endless and boundless.