Ian suddenly spoke, revealing a smile. In his eyes, there was nothing but pure curiosity: "If you truly believe that knowing the truth of all this leads only to despair... doesn’t that mean you are already mad?"
"In that case, tell me the truth! Let me go mad as well, transforming from a fearless ignorant into a Prophet dreading the future... If you really want to conquer my will, you must do just that!"
At this moment, Echo’s tone became utterly confused: [Do you really know nothing? Did you not say those words just to intentionally provoke me?]
Its voice suddenly became compassionate: [Do you truly know nothing?]
Sensing the unexpected ’sympathy and pity’ from his enemy, Ian did not take offense. He simply nodded calmly: "I truly do not know. Please tell me."
Echoes suddenly erupted into a laughter akin to tidal waves. In the entire Soul Space, all the dark gold souls were laughing hysterically, even as they were torn apart by Bug Beasts, even as the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon was knocked to the ground by Crystal Dragon, even as gigantic fortresses were ripped apart by the Colossal Divine Soldier, they all laughed uncontrollably, hysterically.
[You actually know nothing, yet you want to venture into outer cosmic space? You really know nothing, yet you oppose me? How absurd, how pathetic... So this is truly the fearless ignorance, that such an ignorant will could even match us!]
In that instant, all laughter ceased. Echo’s voice became incomparably calm: [Then I will tell you about the origins of it all, about the Star Gods, this cosmic-spanning War, and the inexplicable calamity of Nihility that descends upon mortal lives like yours and mine.]
Ian sensed a soul extending toward him, possibly a means hiding a virus, mixed with false answers.
He knew everything. As a Prophet, he glimpsed all futures; even if he were not a Prophet, his intelligence made it clear that Echoes could not so easily reveal the direct truth... yet he still willed himself to accept it.
This is a character flaw. He would certainly agree, certainly pursue the unknown, willing to pay the price, just to know the truth.
That’s why he is not a commonplace traveler or a genuinely wise Sage, that’s why he is Ian, and not anyone else.
Thus, he stands here.
[Star Gods are the Creators]
The very first sentence transmitted from the soul left the youth slightly wide-eyed: [It’s not just the True Dragon. Star Gods are the creators of all known wise life in our universe.]
Like reality, a phantasm appeared before Ian’s eyes, vast images transmitting through the soul’s link into the boy’s consciousness, sharing its memories. It was endless light.
There was no world-shattering explosion, no earthshaking roar. Initially, what appeared before Ian was an obscure darkness indescribable by human language, no color, no sound, no space, nor time, no existence nor distance, no possibility nor impossibility; it was an utterly unguessable point by known logic.
Truth unwavering, all else is fallacy.
Below as above, left as right, front as back, inner and outer unified.
The most complete source of all things in the world, this is ’Taiyi,’ and also ’Primeval.’
This is the singularity. The very origin of the universe.
Without time passing, in a fleeting moment incomprehensible to Humans, the singularity lost balance and completeness, space-time began to appear, but there was still no concept of up, down, left, right, or even distance, time began to flow, yet there was no distinction between past, future, or even present.
The first arc of light was born.
Following, an explosion akin to the creation of heaven and earth occurred.
[The universe in which we exist originated from a great explosion. In the extreme high-temperature Hongliu, the universe degenerated from the enigmatic, flawless singularity into a form understandable by wise life; time began to flow, the first source became the past, what is currently experienced is the present, and what continues to evolve will be the future.]
[With time fleeting by, primordial interstellar matter began to appear, they gathered and dispersed, catalyzing many elements needed by future generations... The universe began to cool, transforming from the primordial fiery boiling sea into a tranquil and vast void, and stars appeared, the first type of wise life observable in this universe was born.]
[That would be the Star Gods,] so spoke Echo, conveying with a complex emotion inherited from the memories of the Pioneer and many researchers from previous eons of civilization: [Life born from the Primeval Light.]
[The initial Star Gods were ionic life born within the sun’s corona. They used electric exchange current as their basic information structure and broadcast frequencies as their means of communication; they used the solar wind as roads, exploring their own kingdom and territory.]
[Because their pure Body of Light could not easily act in the material worlds far from the sun, Star Gods arrived at planets near the sun, using materials also produced by the original large star’s fusion to form their physical bodies— they could manipulate electromagnetic forces to control metal elements, freely shaping their physical forms into various transformations.]