Chapter 1041: Chapter 1040: Moving Forward

Gawain looked at the "God of Nature" in front of him, towering like a mountain, while the latter remained motionless, looking back at him. The eyes, like light-cast crystals, were filled with a quietly flowing radiance. With Gawain’s experience, he could not discern any human emotional changes within them.

They thus stared at each other for a moment. Gawain confirmed that the other party was not joking and, rubbing his chin, pondered while saying, "This isn’t a complicated request; I can arrange that for you, although..."

Amon’s tone rose, "Although?"

"You said your perception of the real world is limited, usually only knowing some vague developments," Gawain looked seriously at Amon, "then how do you know about the Magic Web Terminal? I don’t recall anyone discussing this with you."

Amon: "..."

Gawain: "..."

After a brief silence of a few seconds, Gawain withdrew his gaze. He looked around, the empty and silent space of the shadow realm filled with chaos, distant broken lands and high black masses filling the view—there seemed to be no one here but him and Amon.

He turned back as if the slightly awkward silence had never happened and no longer concerned himself with how Amon knew about the Magic Web Terminal. He simply smiled slightly and said to the giant stag before him, "Later, I’ll have Veronica or Kamel deliver a set of equipment to you—the accompanying network devices will also be configured for you."

"Thank you very much," Amon said lightly.

Gawain nodded, then simply said goodbye, turning to leave this dark and spacious place.

Only after Gawain’s figure completely disappeared from the courtyard of the defied Fortress did Amon withdraw his gaze from the distance. His crystal-like huge eyes slightly narrowed, and beside him, in the formless chaotic darkness, rose a gale of invisible magic power, glowing flecks of dust appearing seemingly out of nowhere, rapidly rotating and condensing into a massive female figure.

This was a lady as tall as a clock tower, her entire being composed of the purest arcane power and incomprehensible dust, with countless twinkling lights and magic symbols embedded in her mist-like flowing "skirt"—this was the former Goddess of Magic, Milmina.

As soon as her figure solidified, Milmina glanced at the direction of the main building of the defied Fortress, then turned to look at the giant stag lying not far away: "He really left, didn’t he?"

Amon’s body couldn’t move, but his gaze seemed to float upwards, "If I said he didn’t leave, would you run to the depths of the shadow realm like the wind immediately? Like the previous time?"

"...It seems he did leave," Milmina said, seemingly relieved. Immediately afterward, a hint of obvious displeasure appeared on her magic power mist-formed face as she looked down at Amon, "You exposed me again earlier! Was it accidental this time too?"

Amon was silent for a couple of seconds before saying nonchalantly, "...careless."

"I tell you interesting things from the prime material world, and you expose my whereabouts," Milmina said very displeased, "I don’t recall ever offending you!"

"I said, careless," Amon said casually, his tone seemingly eternally unhurried, "Moreover, why are you so afraid of Gawain Cecil? Even now that you’ve shed your clerical status, you’re still a powerful magical being. In this special shadow realm, why should you fear a mortal so much?"

"I said, I can’t return to the mortal’s sight now—I must wait for those remaining ’connections’ to further fade," Milmina looked at Amon with eyes slightly narrowed, "And haven’t you sensed it? Around that so-called ’mortal’, there lingers a force that suppresses us... that’s Voyager’s legacy, haven’t you felt it?"

Amon let out a low chuckle and then reminded the god hiding in the shadow realm, "The Voyager’s legacy... Of course, I felt it, but look down at this pile of things on me, what’s this?"

Milmina glanced at the crisscrossing scars on him and the fragments deeply embedded in them, instantly backing away with some repulsion, "Alright, for you, the Voyager aura carried by Gawain Cecil might not be a big deal at all—but it’s quite different for me, I don’t wish to deal with such dangerous things at all."

Amon’s tone seemed to carry a hint of teasing, "I thought the embodiment of ’magic’ would have a stronger curiosity and exploration spirit, should be more courageous in facing the legacy of the Voyager."

"Curiosity and exploration spirit do not mean recklessness, appropriate caution and rationality are also necessary qualities when seeking truth," Milmina said, with a hint of exploration in her gaze, "Speaking of which, I am curious—you requested a Magic Web Terminal from Gawain Cecil... what do you plan to do with it?"

Amon said lightly, "I’ve told you, to alleviate boredom."

"You’ve been lying here for three thousand years, and you can lie here for many more thousands of years. For us, ’boredom’ is a pseudo-proposition—the time span of under ten thousand years has little impact on us," Milmina watched Amon, with not a hint of joke in her tone, "Put away the reasoning about ’boredom’. Magic Web Terminal and the Magic Web are all things I told you about, and I know better than you what they are. A Magic Web Terminal is used to access the Magic Web, and the Magic Web is a carrier for the neural network, so you’re actually interested in the Mindscape that mortals have constructed using the neural network... what do you want to do with it?"

Amon did not directly answer the question, instead asking back, "You seem very concerned that I might endanger those mortals’ safety?"

"I owe them a favor," Milmina said earnestly, "My nature is to repay favors—this is the first time I can follow my nature to do what I want, so this matter is important to me."

"Then you can rest assured, I have no intention of causing any harm. On the contrary, I have high expectations for those humans—precisely because of this, I am more interested in the neural network they created," Amon said calmly, his gaze landing on Milmina, "That neural network washed away your divinity, this process showcases a possibility."

"Do you want to try too?" Milmina’s tone carried a hint of skepticism, "Don’t blame me for dampening your spirits, but I don’t think you can succeed. What I did requires extremely high magical skills and... talent, whereas your talent clearly is not in this domain. On the other hand, the Non-directional Thought Trend in the unconscious sector is not a ’safe tool’, but a very dangerous potion, facing that Trend’s danger is comparable to when you were impacted by Voyager’s heritage, it’s a kind of suicide. Lastly, that neural network isn’t just a public square to come and go as you please—it’s guarded inside, and though it’s an inexperienced guard, the neural network is her home turf."

She paused here, with a sincere touch, "You don’t need to take risks in this regard, you’ve already succeeded in your own way—though it took a lot more time, but you have no need to start over yet another path."

"Rest assured, I have no intention of doing such a thing," not until Milmina finished, did Amon break the silence, "I know those risks, and I am aware of that dangerous guard. Frankly, I don’t want to face that guard at all—Even you almost got caught by her, and I’ve laid here for three thousand years, even more... not good at running. I’m just somewhat curious, wanting to understand more about that neural network, to see how exactly it operates. I have a feeling, maybe the third path that mankind seeks is in the depths of the neural network."

The courtyard fell silent for a moment. Goddess of Magic seemed to fall into a brief contemplation. After a moment, she broke the silence, "So, you decided to take a step forward after hearing about that ’ideal’ from Gawain Cecil—do you truly believe he can find a way for mortals and gods to coexist safely without hidden dangers?"

"Safely coexist without hidden dangers? It’s too early to say... Even Gawain Cecil himself, for all his optimism, wouldn’t dare draw such a conclusion, he merely thinks a third path exists," Amon seemed to smile slightly, "But I believe he’s making efforts to produce some results, and observing more before those results emerge isn’t a bad thing, is it?"

"Your way of putting it is quite agreeable, but do you really have no other motive?"

"Another motive? Perhaps," Amon said softly, with a long sigh in his words, "Honestly, knowing that so many changes have occurred in the mortal world, staying here... it’s quite boring."

Is it really boring...

The Goddess of Magic quietly watched Amon, who was bound to the shattered earth—perhaps he was indeed speaking the truth, yet she couldn’t quite comprehend it, for she couldn’t empathically understand what it felt like to be sealed in one place for three thousand years by the legacy of the Voyager.

Freed from the shackles of her divine status, she could now run freely in this infinitely vast space, from the defied Court to the deepest parts of the shadow realm in one breath, and occasionally wander the shadow realm—she didn’t feel bored at all.

Thinking of this, sparkling stardust floated up around her once more, and then she suddenly turned and ran off like a gust of wind.

Amon watched silently in the direction where the Goddess of Magic disappeared, remaining motionless.

"(Divine profanity)..."

...

On the Loren Continent, dominated by humans and other intelligent beings, the wheels of history were moving ever forward, and the development of civilization was embarking on an unprecedented path.

Meanwhile, on another distant continent to the north, the progress of civilization had stalled for 1,870,000 years, until now, when its jammed wheels began to turn once more—or rather, had the opportunity to turn.

The gods had disappeared.

The cradle had disappeared.

The chains of bondage and eternal protection that persisted for millions of years had vanished.

This land gained freedom, yet in the first seventy-two hours of freedom, everything in Talronde simply lay dormant—the victors lay prostrate in the searing dust, as the howling winds blew from the distant sea, with no one cheering for this victory or able to record this historical turning point.

Along the fragmented east coast, in the completely ruined Argondale, in the blazing rift that spanned the entire continent, the surviving dragons and countless entirely scrapped war machines stood as silent as lifeless stones, scattered throughout the ruins of Talronde.

No new orders were given, no tasks were urgent to handle, and the majority of these Omega terminals came to a complete halt, occasionally a few dragons took flight, or surviving transport machines flew across the dust-clouded sky, delivering the remaining supplies to maintain the life of the last survivors on this continent.

This stasis continued for a long time, until the wind from the sea dispersed the dust clouds in the high sky, until the elemental rift at the continent’s center gradually closed, until the fires in the City of Gods extinguished, only then did new activity emerge deep within the ruins of Argondale.

A series of booming sounds echoed from the depths of the earth, as the remaining power systems drove critical armor protective layers into motion, vibrations spread across the ruins as the buried mechanical devices rumbled, pushing aside heavy soil and collapsed buildings—the corner of the Argondale ruins caved in, while the central area abnormally rose up. This continued for a full minute, until a gap was finally opened in the ruins.

A massive metal claw pushed aside a shattered temple column, climbing outward bit by bit, bringing with it a powerful body, an oddly shaped torso, and a head glowing with red light.

After a difficult climb, a peculiar "dragon" nearly two hundred meters long, never before seen in the land of the Talronde Dukedom, finally emerged from the ruins, ascending to the heights of Argondale.

Even in the Dragon Kingdom, where implant modification technology flourished, "he" was absolutely beyond the imagination of the Dragonkin—

This dragon’s body was almost entirely composed of metal and other inorganic materials, with layer upon layer of heavy alloy armor and high-strength polymers serving as its scales and skin, its gaps flickering with roaming lights, as if countless micro-machines were ceaselessly active inside it; yet this dragon was not purely mechanical, its chest armor contained irregular transparent structures, through which visible flesh and organic fluids could be seen, organs of flesh and metal devices fused together, yet it wasn’t like the once-prevalent implantation techniques in Talronde, rather... it seemed as if these organs had "grown" in such a way.

This dragon’s bizarre form wasn’t due to implant modification—it was born this way.

With heavy steps, the bizarre shaped dragon stepped over the roof of the once highest council chamber, over the square and elevator wreckage of the upper temple, it arrived before a "cliff" formed by half-melted ruins, and slowly crouched down there.

Combat machines still able to move and surviving Dragonkin nearby gathered around, seemingly waiting for the next command.

But Omega merely lifted its head, awkwardly trying to control its unfamiliar body, a composite of steel and biomass, staring silently into the distance.

It observed this world, full of curiosity.

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