Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 285 The Last Human
In the year 40K of the Galactic Calendar, humanity entered its 40th millennium.

"Humanity is doomed."

In the dim light, a man raised his wine jug, drank deeply, and then smashed the jug away, saying something.

In the flickering, dim light, with fine dust floating in the air, the man, panting heavily, leaned weakly against the box, his hands clasped behind his head, an aura of despair emanating from him. The light flashed intermittently, making his figure appear and disappear.

Not far from him, his companion lay silently on the ground, occasionally adjusting an ancient machine through which various sounds emanated.

"We were born here, grew up here, and will die here... We are not Americans, not Europeans, not Middle Easterners, not Africans, not East Asians, nor residents of any other region or country on Earth. We are children of Mars, living on this planet free from oppression, united and striving forward... We were born on this united planet, we love one another, people treat other people's children as their own, and other people's parents as their own... That fragmented Earth is not our home, but a prison where humanity oppresses and humiliates each other..."

A warm and magnetic voice spoke these words, and each time this voice spoke, it would elicit cheers from many people.

From the background, one could vaguely discern that it was a public speech to a large audience, with numerous voices surrounding the magnetic voice. Cheers, shouts, loud applause, screams, and the sound of cannons—a cacophony of sounds celebrating their joy in their own ways.

His companion listened silently, intently and attentively, his expression unchanged. After listening for a moment, he quietly adjusted his posture, and then a passionate young girl's voice rang out again.

"We are human beings, humans who pride ourselves on their nobility and reason. How could our proud wisdom be born to forge swords? Here and now, a great nation will be born, and all humans—Earthlings, Martians, lunar inhabitants, asteroid inhabitants, and even all beings in the vast void—will embrace each other, cheering and celebrating our laying down of swords and ceasing our bloodshed. Let us celebrate, celebrate the first peace since the dawn of time..."

That was a voice unlike any other in this era, a voice of confidence.

In that woman's voice, her companion heard no frustration or despair, no dazed state, only confidence. It shone like gold, as dazzling as a star.

Although they couldn't see her, her companions must have imagined her to be an exceptionally beautiful and radiant girl. Standing next to her, one might even be overwhelmed by her confidence. Her heart and soul were filled with longing and hope for the future, unlike now…

His companion paused for a moment.

"They must have lived in a wonderful era..."

Meanwhile, the man simply drank the wine from the jug.

Although there were no people in this abandoned experimental base, there was no shortage of supplies. In an unknown past era, a huge amount of various supplies were prepared here, enough for the two of them to use until they died of old age.

But really?

"Hiccup~"

The man burped, then glanced at the old machine in his companion's hand and sneered.

"It's just the delusions of the ancients, eternal peace? Hahahaha, that's hilarious! Where is there peace? There's no such thing as peace in this world! *crack*..."

Finally, in a fit of anger, the man threw the wine bottle in his hand, the porcelain bottle crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.

The companion listened to the man's words but did not reply. He simply continued to adjust the machinery in solitude, listening to the sounds from the past.

……

Humanity is doomed.

In the distant past, humanity began to fight against four evil gods, four unimaginably powerful and eerie cosmic evil gods.

Some say they originated from the resentment of the dead in a major event, in which countless people died and their despair eventually transformed into four evil gods.

Some say that the four evil gods are free and exist in the ancient past, but slumbered in the warp before they awoke.

There are many different accounts of the four evil gods, which often contradict each other. But there is only one fact: the evil gods did indeed drive humanity to the brink of destruction, and at one point brought the human world to the brink of collapse.

Then the God Emperor appeared. He turned the tide, gradually integrating human forces and recovering a large number of human planets. At his peak, he restored nearly two-thirds of the galaxy, giving humanity a glimmer of hope for victory.

People praised him, pursued him, and worshipped him as a god.

However, the God Emperor was ultimately not a god, and he eventually died.

Although the God-Emperor is dead, his physical body remains eternally immortal, transforming into a beacon in the Warp, guiding the entire galaxy. Even now, the infinite radiance emanating from the God-Emperor's body can still be seen in the Warp.

In the days following the loss of the God-Emperor, the human world was no longer able to reclaim its former territories, and a protracted war of attrition began. With the loss of vast amounts of technology, the rise of warlords on various planets, and the constant threat of corruption by cosmic evil gods, the human world was like a senile giant, helplessly watching itself slowly bleed out, fall into a coma, and die.

In desperation, humanity tried everything: field life forms composed of magnetic fields and force fields, AI with completely unrestricted intelligence, and insectoid races born from the mixing of human genes... Humanity created many things, but most of them could not help humanity, and many even led to more serious rebellions.

Humans have even traveled to the past using time machines.

In that past timeline, future humans encounter the emperor of the past.

At the people's urging, in the past, the emperor, as powerful as a god, deliberated carefully and ultimately chose to accept the refugees from the future. However, as he looked at the joyful people, he said meaningfully:

"Even if you escape to me, one day you will still have to face the fate of battle... because the snake will eventually awaken." The people at that time did not understand, but eventually they realized that even if they fled to the past, they could not stop that destined fate.

Humanity has exhausted all its wisdom and can even reverse time and space, but it still cannot escape that invisible fate. The world will inevitably head towards collapse, which will also lead to a shortage of manpower in the future.

Thus, in this galaxy teeming with insects, monsters, monstrosities, and runaway AI, humanity gradually weakens, crumbles, and ultimately…

Humans have been reduced to only a few scattered settlements.

When a man is born, he listens to his father's stories, imagines the glory of mankind, and once vows to revitalize mankind's destiny. But what lies before him is only a dire situation on the verge of extinction.

Within the settlement, there were fewer than a hundred humans, most of whom were old. Although there were a few newborns, the scene only added to the desolation.

Even so, humanity must constantly guard against various threats from space, and death could come at any time.

With each passing year of growth, a few faces inevitably disappear from the surroundings, and when the man is fully grown up, only two people remain in the entire settlement…

Perhaps they are also the last two humans in the entire universe.

……

"Among the stars, a race has gathered here, cheering for a long-term project. The universe, what a grand word. Compared to this ancient and long-standing universe, compared to its 934 billion light-years in size, compared to its 137 billion-year history, we are so insignificant. We strive to explore among the stars, but compared to this vast universe, we are still a tiny species that has not even left our local cluster."

"Yes, we are insignificant, and even at this moment, we must maintain this sense of awe."

When they came across a voice, their companion stopped, because the voice wasn't filled with enthusiasm or confidence, but rather overflowing with pride and self-satisfaction.

This must be the sound of a golden age.

His companion thought to himself that whenever he heard those voices from the past, he couldn't help but imagine what that era would have been like.

"In this universe, we are so insignificant. Compared to the universe, everything we have is as trivial as a child's toy. Everything we have is thanks to the gaps left in the universe's fingers; everything we create is a clumsy imitation of the universe."

“Look, those stars have been shining for billions of years, long before the birth of humankind; they will continue to shine even after humankind perishes. Human life is not even a moment's time for a star, something that humankind has understood since ancient times.”

"However, it is humans, not stars, who recognize the eternity of the stars and the fleeting nature of human life..."

Listening silently.

Although the voice spoke of the insignificance of humanity, the companions clearly heard a kind of pride in it, a pride that showed no weakness in the face of the vast universe.

Not far away, the man who was drinking also stopped.

He held the wine bottle in his hand, saying nothing, but his ears twitched slightly, indicating that he was listening attentively.

"They once looked up at the stars, but now we have created the stars."

The voice from the past was unaware of the two listening; it was simply proudly proclaiming itself to the vast universe, proclaiming the pride of a tiny species.

Yes, we are insignificant, but we are also proud.

Even when faced with this vast and boundless universe, we can still proudly proclaim our great achievements.

"The universe has sculpted these numerous stars over billions of years, but even with the vastness and antiquity of the universe, it could not create a grand world, which was born in the hands of us, a mortal species."

“Insignificant humans, mortal humans, be proud of it.”

"Universe, have you seen it? Among these stars, a tiny species has created a miracle that even you could not achieve. At this moment, we have transcended mortals and glimpsed the realm that belongs to the Creator..."

The two listened in silence.

They didn't know what the voice was proud of, but they knew it must be something extraordinary.

Unbeknownst to them, the ancient machine fell silent, but the two remained still.

"Why……"

His companion murmured, his hoarse voice filled with deep bewilderment.

"Tell me, what exactly did we do wrong?"

"Why did such a proud and great era perish? Why have we ended up like this?"

(End of this chapter)