Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 290 I do

“That incredible little island in the Southern Ocean? I’ve read about it in books. The original islanders there built thousands of giant stone statues, and their magical level was very low. Many people speculate that it’s impossible to build so many giant stone statues tens of meters high by hand alone, so there must be some unspeakable secret behind it,” Muirna said, not quite understanding why Caesar suddenly brought this up.

"In fact, those giant stone statues were built bit by bit over thousands of years by the islanders themselves, using only their own hands and without relying on any secret means. They used up almost all the resources of the entire island to do so," Caesar said.
"The people of an island, spending over a thousand years and exhausting all the island's resources, really just to build those giant stone statues?" Muirna genuinely found it hard to understand.

Do you know why they built so many stone statues?

Muirner shook his head.

"Because Red Palm Island is located at the junction of continental plates, earthquakes occur frequently, with a major earthquake occurring almost every few decades. In addition, there is an active volcano on the island. When an earthquake occurs, the volcano erupts, and the mountain collapses, resulting in many deaths each time."

They built the giant stone statues to perform worship ceremonies, to erect the statues and pray for divine protection to stop the disasters.

"On that island, there were originally different tribes. These tribes fought each other for land for planting and hunting. However, in the face of the continuous disasters, they eventually came together, put aside their disputes, and worked together to achieve a common goal: to build a giant stone statue in the hope that the gods would appease the disasters."

When he was shipwrecked at sea and drifted for several months, he came to Red Brown Stone Island. Through the islanders' accounts and his own speculation, he discovered the island's secret.

Caesar paused for a moment, then continued, "From today's perspective, the islanders of Red Brown Island were digging their own graves. They dug up all the stones and cut down all the trees, which not only failed to quell the disaster but also depleted the island's resources. By the time the outside world discovered the island, all that remained was a barren island and a little over a hundred islanders. There were even more giant stone statues on the island than living people."

"But what if they had taken the right path from the beginning? Instead of building useless giant stone statues, they had worked together to build a ship that could sail across the ocean and brave the storms, and set sail for another island. In that case, they could not only have survived, but also occupied many of the surrounding deserted islands. However, they chose the wrong answer in the matter of the survival of their race."

Caesar looked at Muirna: "The tribes on Red Palm Island were originally fighting endlessly for land, but they were able to unite in the face of major disasters and accomplish what seemed almost impossible to outsiders over a thousand years. Even if they were working in the wrong direction, it tells us one thing: humanity can remain united in the face of major crises."

"The great destruction of that time also proved this point. The Eli Alliance, the first great unity in human history, was also achieved under this disaster."

Muirner understood Caesar's meaning, but she shook her head:
“Xiao Sa, the kind of unity you’re talking about isn’t certain. A nation isn’t a tribe, and the situations it faces are much more complex. There’s also the possibility that when disaster strikes, they’ll just pool their resources even more recklessly, and the world will only become more chaotic.”

This is why she has never made her research report public. In the current international situation, making it public would only intensify the competition between countries for limited resources and hasten the end of the world.

"Therefore, human intervention is needed to change the existing international situation," Caesar said.

"Now a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is before us: the Great Destruction, the Apocalypse. These could very well be the perfect chance for humanity to forge an unprecedented alliance. Just as children mature through the trials of society, so too does civilization. Only after experiencing the malice of the universe can civilization truly grow."

"Differences between races, between nations, and between factions are what lead to human prejudice, conflict, and struggle. There is only one way to completely eliminate this prejudice: leave Eli and go to the stars. Only in this way can they realize that they belong to humanity, to Eli, and only then can a true community of civilization be established."

Caesar spoke at length, finally revealing all the thoughts he had kept hidden for so long, thoughts he had pondered since his time as emperor.

He understood then that unifying human civilization by force was not a lasting process, and that unification would eventually lead to division. Prejudice between different races was deeply rooted and difficult to eliminate; this was a historical cycle. Only by addressing the root causes of the problem and thoroughly integrating the identities of different races could prejudice be eradicated.

"This is my ideal of the ultimate understanding of peace. Perhaps it will encounter unimaginable difficulties in its implementation, and perhaps the reality will be more complicated, but in any case, it is a solution, so I will do my best to achieve this goal. I follow His Majesty for this ideal."

"In the past, Emperor Shengyuan devoted tremendous effort to unifying the world in order to achieve the ultimate peace for all mankind. I will fulfill the wish that he could not achieve."

Caesar's words were filled with absolute determination, and he unconsciously clenched his fist tightly.

Meanwhile, Muirner, who was standing to the side, fell into deep thought after hearing what he said, gazing at the starry sky for a long time.

“So, Professor,” Caesar looked at her and extended a hand.

"Would you like to join me in achieving this goal, leading all of humanity through the apocalypse, and ultimately guiding civilization into the stars? Let's witness it all together."

As Caesar spoke, his tone was firm, but when he extended the invitation to Muirner, there was still a hint of hesitation in his voice.

Muirner looked at the hand reaching out to it, then at the still-childish face of the boy.
In that instant, many thoughts flooded her mind: the village fire, her parents' farewell, the heart-wrenching screams in the darkness, and the terrifying wall of white bones.
In the end, all the scenes returned to this place, to the boy in front of her.

She smiled faintly, the wind blowing through her long hair, and the bright moonlight bathed her body in a halo of holy silver light, making her appear so beautiful.

She took Caesar's hand and whispered:

“I do.” “I do, Caesar, I do want to go with you to witness this.”

At this very moment, Ita is sleeping soundly in Muirna's little house.

"Hehe, Caesar, don't do that, you're so naughty, hehe,"

A silly smile played on her lips, and drool clung to the corner of her mouth.

She was only woken from her sleep when someone patted her cheek.

She opened her eyes groggily and saw Caesar looking at her.

"Oh, Caesar, you're back." She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Then the scene before her eyes became clear, and she immediately saw that Muirner was standing next to Caesar, and the key point was that the two of them were actually holding hands!
No, um, you guys.

"It's getting late, we should go, Ita."

Caesar said, taking her hand, and then separating his hand from Muirna's. Ita could only pout and stop arguing.

She glanced out the window and realized it was already dark.
They've been together for so long?

“Well then, we’ll be going now, Professor. Please contact me anytime if you need anything,” Caesar said to Muirner.

“Yes, I’m also very grateful that you spent time with me today,” Muirner said.

Upon hearing this, Caesar simply smiled, and Muirner smiled back as if they understood each other perfectly. It seemed that the two of them conveyed some kind of message without saying a word.

Ita watched from the side, frowning. He wondered why the two of them seemed to have gotten closer after their trip.

What exactly did they do?
"Oh, and please thank Sister Luze for her hospitality. If I have time next time, can I go again?" Caesar said.

“Of course, my sister likes you so much, she’ll definitely be happy for you to come,” Muirna said.

Ita was a little confused. What sister? Muirna's sister? Never heard of her before? And she took Caesar to meet her own sister? And entertained her?
Ita sensed something was very wrong and quickly grabbed his hand, shouting:
"Caesar! We need to hurry! It's so late, and Yumilia is still waiting for us at home!"

"Okay, okay, then, goodbye, Professor. Ita, take it easy," Caesar said to Muirner as Ita pulled him toward the door.

"Ok?"

Muirner noticed a messy stack of papers on the table, with drawings on them. He picked one up and saw a fierce-looking, evil witch who looked remarkably like himself.

There was a whole stack of these paintings on the table, which showed that Ita had been quite busy.

Muirner looked at his own doodles and couldn't help but laugh.

"Ita." She called to Ita, who hadn't yet stepped out the door, and smiled at her.

"I really like the portrait you drew for me, and I will keep it carefully."

"What painting?" Caesar asked Ita in confusion.

"Ah, no... that me."

Ita blushed with guilt and couldn't say anything. She could only quickly pull Caesar away from Muirna's house.

(End of this chapter)