"This light that has been stagnant for years, finally pouring out, is the true essence of the Calamity of Light!"
It’s simple to say, but actually quite ordinary.
Consider Star Prison Tianyu and Terra as a metal room deep under the sea with Humans, Humans can live at the narrow deep-sea seabed under the shelter of the metal room, but once they leave the room, they will be crushed, drowned, and suffocated by water pressure, essentially certain death.
The good news is that this metal room is incredibly sturdy; even the currents outside won’t damage it. The bad news is that this metal room has a gap, though covered with a layer of glass, it’s almost the same in effect, but the glass position is very fragile.
This layer of glass has its pros and cons. The people inside the house can observe the sea through the glass and imagine what the outside world is like, but the bad news is that it is extremely fragile.
It’s fragile enough that a mere light touch by people inside the house will shatter it completely.
Afterwards, limitless seawater will flood in, submerging the house and killing the people inside.
Star Prison Tianyu is that iron house, the low-light-speed Aether membrane at the gap is the glass, and Ian is the one who, driven by curiosity, touched the glass, causing the seawater to flood.
If it weren’t for him deploying the Mechanical Dragons, perhaps the Calamity of Light would never have erupted!
But here’s the problem.
"The Hall of Ten Thousand Spirits also prophesied the outbreak of the Calamity of Light, in other words, even if I hadn’t dispatched the Mechanical Dragons, other causes would lead to the Aether membrane breaking, causes unknown, whether internal or external."
"Moreover, the final echo in the Spirit Disaster Path clearly flew out of Star Prison Tianyu... So why didn’t it trigger the Calamity of Light?"
Ian thought for a moment, then laughed: "That’s hilarious, turns out it never even went out!"
The Mechanical Dragon is a material entity, using an Ether Furnace Core to create an Ether Bubble to move at superluminal speed, so it could pierce through the Aether membrane from the inside, sparking the Calamity of Light.
The Dark Gold Colossus Dragon had already undergone phototransformation, it was essentially a mass of light at that point, so of course, when entering the reduced-light-speed Aether membrane from the inside, it too was stopped in place—the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon never left Star Prison Tianyu; it just entered another prison.
Because of this, in the Spirit Disaster Path, piloting the Voidspawn Sovereign, Ian sorrowfully remarked that this was a road going nowhere.
To leave through the gap of Star Prison Tianyu, one must face the divine power of the ’Supernova Eruption.’
"Haha... truly fascinating."
As he laughed, Ian’s expression returned to calm, emotionless: "Now, the Cradle has become the true prison of Star Prison Tianyu."
The echo, wholeheartedly abandoning Humans and Terra to leave this Starfield, ultimately was still confined to the Terra Starfield.
Just like in this future, Ian, wholeheartedly eager to leave Terra, paying no heed to the warfare on the ground... ultimately still provoked the eruption of the Calamity of Light.
[Given that, what should be done?]
At this moment, the Galewind Dragon King has completely understood the situation of Terra and the Cradle System, his brows furrowed: [Even if the real you no longer ventures outside Star Prison Tianyu, there’s still a great possibility, other causes may lead to the low-light-speed Aether membrane breaking, causing the Calamity of Light... We have no alternative but to brace for impact]
[Or... try to repair the Cradle System, accelerating its self-maintenance]
The statement by Galewind Dragon King isn’t wrong, not just the present Terra, even if Ian’s future achieved the Sixth Echelon, there’s no way to withstand the radiation storms caused by the Supernova Eruption— even with Imperial Capital’s planetary shield, the likelihood is slim.
In prophecies, the energy level of this radiation storm cannot be observed, whether it’s capable of vaporizing planets or just sweeping the surface, if it’s the latter, then perhaps the Imperial City could still offer some protection, and Humans might endure... but if it’s the former, Ian feels it’d be better if everyone engaged in a ’joyful twenty-year plan,’ squander resources to enjoy waiting for death together, all turn to ash.
Therefore, hope can only be pinned on the ’Cradle System’ itself.
As long as the Cradle System can be reinforced, accelerating the reformation and fortification of the Aether membrane to prevent the Calamity of Light from erupting, Humans still have a glimmer of hope.
But in that case, the possibility of Humans venturing beyond the Cradle would be completely shut. The source of thɪs content is NoveIＦire.net
Let alone whether he could achieve it, or influence the operation of the Cradle System...
Ask himself honestly, would he do it?
Ian knows very well. Even if dragging all of Humanity together to die, he will never give up on that possibility.
This thought mode, solid to the point of resembling a Thought Imprint, was precisely the ’thought model’ constructed by generations of Ian before.
He will never give up, never compromise, will fight till the last moment, then pass all experiences to the Ian in other parallel timelines, pulling a world into destruction as he fails.
The curses of Humans, their desire to survive, the want to abandon effort for ease, the decadence wanting to rot in the Cradle till death, he doesn’t care at all.
"Turns out, this is the root of my ’unconcern’... because I do not fear death at all, my demise will become nourishment for my next self."
Slowly opening his eyes, his gaze sparkling, Ian instead laughed: "I’ll try my best not to reach that point. But if it truly comes to a moment of decision... oh, beings of Terra."