The black sun hangs high

Chapter 471 Piercing the Universe
"So, you're ready to leave?"

Aziv finally approached Hugh, and upon meeting him, the wise ratman prophet immediately posed his question.

Aziv's cane had been replaced—the previous metal rod had been taken away by the newly trained rat-man engineers because it was actually a missing part in some engineering structure.

This incident can be seen as a microcosm of the impact and shock brought about by new technologies and knowledge.

In response to Aziv's question, Hugh, who was organizing the data, turned around and nodded slightly.

At this moment, Archiv was hunched over, but had a smile on his face. General Bernhardt was dozing on his shoulder. Archiv curled up his long tail and gently pushed Bernhardt back, who seemed about to slip off.

Around Hugh, there were piles of all kinds of documents and terminals used to read the massive files. All of these were connected to the ever-functioning continuity beacon and Hugh's next objective.

In fact, the current continuation beacon has undergone new changes compared to the original.

Under Hugh's orders, a large team of ratmen engineers is modifying and adjusting the Continuation Beacon using materials and equipment left over from the Continuation Base. As required, a large number of complex devices were moved by the ratmen to the vicinity of the Continuation Beacon's huge base and connected to the base in a specific order.

Part of the connection is naturally accomplished using simple, unadorned pipes.

But many more connections are built on a very interesting and unique system.

The complex, rigorous, yet highly ordered patterns in this system form formulas and structures that directly support the operation of magic. These formulas and structures then combine to form invisible channels and pipelines. Through their transportation and integration, the required magic will eventually reach its target and play its role in the next similar system.

To some extent, this method is similar to the magical theories in Vaan. The difference is that the theories in Vaan are obviously still in a relatively early stage. Even the most rigorous and complex magical structures that Hugh had previously learned and come into contact with seem incredibly simple in the face of this system. Comparing the two is like comparing a simple brick to a tall building.

However, this discovery did not make Hugh feel regretful; on the contrary, it made him happy.

Because it turns out that the two systems are actually quite similar. The biggest difference is that the current Vaan is missing the other half of what constitutes the system, and even this missing part is now developing at an extremely rapid pace.

Despite the overall worrying situation, these findings are also quite encouraging.

Perhaps because he was too far from Vaan, Hugh found that he could no longer simply identify with a specific race, country, or organization; he preferred to view that distant world as a whole.

It is both an independent new world and a precious projection left by the "homeland" beneath one's feet in the vast universe. Now, that projection has clearly grown into its proper form, which naturally makes people happy.

"Mr. Aziv, how are you doing with those books?"

Hugh controlled the Touch of Karron to lower the two rolled-up terminals, then turned around and looked at the old ratman with a smile.

"I've seen quite a lot, but there's still much more that I haven't seen or haven't understood."

Aziv sighed, "To be honest, I feel like this knowledge is about to smash my head... If these things are the truth, then what about what I knew and believed in the past? It can't be just baseless fantasies and fallacies, can it? But I clearly drew faith and strength from them before. Could it be that the whole of Vanne has been on the wrong path in the past?"

As he spoke these words, Aziv appeared somewhat dazed. It was clear that his mind was indeed at a critical moment, as if something was relentlessly pounding on his brain, almost causing his will to collapse.

A Karron's Touch turned around and placed the chair next to Aziv.

After the two sat down face to face, Hugh said, "Mr. Aziv, the reason I sent these things to you as soon as possible is not to destroy the ideas you have established in the past, but to give you an important foundational understanding."

Under Aziv's gaze, Hughes uttered a word softly.

"Dialectical".

"Dialectics?"

"Yes, it's a concept, or it can also be understood as a principle and method."

Hughes patiently explained, “Actually, we always use this method consciously or unconsciously under normal circumstances, but it may not always work because we may not consciously put it into practice, or in certain situations, we may unconsciously choose to ignore it.”

Aziv was, after all, a wise man. The moment it heard the unfamiliar word, it roughly guessed what Hugh was trying to say. So Aziv asked, "Are you saying that my way of looking at these things is too one-sided? That I've gone down a dead end?"

"It's not that serious."

Hughes chuckled, “Let me give you an example. If you insist on categorizing me, then without a doubt, I am a mage from Vaan, a member of the Dawn Society, and a member of the Ernst family of the Kingdom of Water… Of all the races, I would naturally be closer to humans, and I should also have the most basic hostility towards those races and deities who were banished by the goddess Mel.”

At this point, Hugh raised his hand and pointed in Aziv's direction: "The ratmen, who once treated humans and other races as inferior living sacrifices in Vaan, should actually be regarded as my absolute enemies."

But you didn't do it in the end.

“Well, because I have no reason, nor should I, to confine my perspective to this kind of cognition… From Vaan’s current point of view, the ratmen are certainly crazy, extreme, and dangerous, but if they lacked these qualities, they could not have endured the long-term pressure exerted by the black sun for so long. And these qualities may be precisely what Vaan lacks now.”

At this point, Hughes let out a long sigh: "In the face of those tragic, desperate pains and conflicts, we should first look at something deeper and more fundamental. That is to say, we should consciously seek an answer—what caused all of this? Where exactly are the root contradictions and troubles hidden? In the case of rodents, even if it is an unstable weakness, is it possible to turn it into an advantage?"

Aziv fell silent, his eyes, glowing with a faint green light, lowered to the ground.

It pondered for a long, long time, until it heard the sound of Hugh flipping through documents again, at which point it finally stopped thinking: "If possible, I hope to teach this principle to the wise men in the group, and then let them teach the word to the other rodents." "That would certainly be good, but don't rush it."

Hugh's voice was calm and firm: "You don't need to worry too much about the time and cycle. If my judgment is correct, after I leave here, the attention of the entire Dark Abyss Wasteland, and even the Dark Abyss Court, will be completely drawn to you, and you will have a very stable period of development... Make good use of it."

"What... exactly are you planning to do?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

……

As the Voltel army stationed in the rugged hills of Vaan began to unleash a massive barrage of crystal shells at the strange, ancient shadows, a deafening roar also erupted from the depths of the Dark Abyss Wasteland.

The violent sound and muffled tremors were like thunderclaps, adding a strange touch to this deathly, bone-strewn land. The magic mixed in with the roar even brought a moment of order to the chaos and disorder within the Dark Abyss. As the ripples spread, the disordered time and space gained a very brief period of stability.

The scavengers, hidden in caves and crevices, timidly peered out, and they saw a bright beam of light suddenly pierce the sky from somewhere in the wasteland. It dispersed the clouds clinging together by the remnants of souls and drifting wills, pierced through the mud behemoths wandering in the "sky," and created a brief moment of light within this gloomy, deathly silence.

Like a candle flame bursting into flame.

After a brief period of calm and order, the surging tide began to fill the void. The enormous hole created by the light and roar was instantly filled again. In the process, not only the weak scavengers, but even the ferocious Nightmare Bears could not protect themselves. Their bodies were torn to shreds and fragments the moment they touched the turbulent currents, and eventually scattered across the vast wasteland.

"..."

Inside the main hall of the base, one by one, the dizzy and disoriented ratmen struggled to their feet. They rubbed their noses, picked their ears, and shrank back, looking in awe at the much-diminished pillar of light and the figure standing beneath it.

A somewhat unpleasant odor permeated the hall.

This is the result of an enormous amount of magic crystals being filled in and then instantly drained.

What was consumed was not only the magical crystals that served as energy, but also the complex equipment that had been painstakingly organized and pieced together. This round of calibration and restart of the continuation beacon finally and completely exhausted the last adjustment opportunity for the continuation beacon.

From this day forward, this beacon, which witnessed the rise and fall of a world, will never be able to be repositioned. It will remain in its current state, continuing to emit a faint light until it is completely extinguished, or until the tribe that occupies this place is able to regain its secrets.

"Isn't this a strange feeling?"

Theseus's voice suddenly rang in Hugh's mind: "Simply tinkering in a place like this could completely change the general course of another distant world... Hehe, doesn't it feel a bit like opening a blind box?"

"Perhaps, but in the end, I didn't really change anything. Even if it did have an impact on Vaan, it probably wouldn't be noticeable for hundreds or thousands of years."

Hugh shook his head silently, thinking to himself, "In any case, Vaan has embarked on its own path. It cannot, and should not, become a copy of a world that has already perished."

"whispering sound."

Theseus scoffed, "The way you talk is somewhat like my mentor. You're not imitating her, are you? It makes me feel a little disgusted."

"You're the disgusting one."

Hugh cursed, then turned around and looked at the ratmen who were bowing their heads to him.

“Just now, you all helped me complete a very important mission… a mission that is absolutely no less than any miracle.”

Upon hearing this, the rats present all raised their heads in surprise. Although they did not quite understand the meaning of Hugh's words, their eyes shone with an unusual light. As rats, they never thought they would have the opportunity to participate in such a glorious mission.

Then Hugh continued, “This light guides our way home. The end of that pillar of light points to our homeland, and the roar just now signifies that important messages and power have been transmitted… This is something that countless gods in the past have failed to do.”

As he spoke, Hughes raised his hand and tapped the metal surface of a broken machine next to him in front of all the ratmen present: "Well, just before that, you were already involved. It's no exaggeration to say that you accomplished an amazing mission that surpassed even those gods."

"Ah... ah?"

The ratman engineers stood there dumbfounded, unable to utter a single word for a moment.

On the other side of the hall, Aziv and the other rat-man sages were talking in hushed tones. Several rat-man spellcasters were staring fervently at Hugh's figure. They had a clear habit and dependence on the path of divine faith, so at this moment, they instinctively found a more concrete and powerful role model for themselves.

Hughes, of course, didn't care about these things.

His insistence on restarting and calibrating the Continuation Beacon was not only to bring new power and "hints" to Vaan, but also to protect the Skaven population inside the artificial mountain.

The dimming beacon will no longer be noticeable, and the remaining power is enough to maintain the spatial scale of this area and protect the ratman tribe so that it can continue to reproduce and develop.

However, Hugh did not completely rule out the possibility of the ratmen tribe studying this miracle.

Perhaps, in the very distant future, this dazzling light from the past will once again illuminate the abyss and pierce the vast universe.

(End of this chapter)