From Blood Mage to Styx Ancestor

Chapter 381 Enlightenment

Humans that haven't fully evolved?

Modi glanced to the side again, his gaze landing on a pedestrian who looked like an ape.

With a hunched back, arms reaching his knees, a protruding jawbone, and thick body hair, he could be said to differ from apes in only one way: his eyes held a wisdom that was hidden within them.

He looked again at the pure white city he was in, finding it hard to imagine that something not fully evolved could create such a prosperous civilization.

"I've noticed," he said, "but it's too much of a coincidence that all citizens are like that."

According to the intelligence he had gathered earlier, this group of human subspecies encountered each other not long after taking to the sky.

In other words, their origin worlds were very close, and even with the technology they had when they first went into space, it would have been enough for them to find each other.

Is it a coincidence that multiple planets inhabited by human subspecies are so close together?

"You did notice that, didn't you?" Valentine smiled, carefully choosing his words, and said, "Yes, coincidentally, some archaeologists have studied this and proposed a theory."

"What theory?"

"Long ago, we may have had another prosperous and great civilization, but it declined due to an accident, and many colonized worlds lost contact with it. The humans in those worlds also gradually degenerated due to an accident."

"Degeneration?" Mordy asked with interest. "If this theory is correct, then how long have you been out of contact?"

Valentine shook his head and casually said, "This has been a subject of debate in academia. Some scholars say that it has been lost for at least millions of years, while others, based on archaeological evidence, point out that the loss of contact has lasted for at most a few thousand years."

"If it's the latter, then it's far too short," Mordy said.

"Yes, so many people prefer the former view," Valentine continued, "but for some reason, the evidence we found supports the latter view more."

Mo Di raised an eyebrow, a look of interest appearing on his face.

It would be very interesting if there were substantial evidence to prove that the latter statement was correct.

What caused humanity, spanning several worlds, to collectively degenerate within just a few thousand years?

Thinking deeper, why did Douglas grant intelligence to the demi-humans? Could it be related to that past civilization, or a collective regression event?

Modi was more cautious about this matter.

Seeing his interested expression, Valentine smiled and offered to take him to visit the relevant museums.

Modi had no reason to refuse such an invitation.

During the journey, he dealt with Valentine while pondering his own affairs.

The three guys I called earlier should already be in position at the edge of the galaxy. When I contacted the Blood God Cult to prepare compensation supplies, I also took the opportunity to let them know. They shouldn't act too impulsively.

And then there's Douglas... You can't believe even half of what that guy says, since our interests aren't intertwined enough, and besides, he's probably hiding a lot more...

In addition, there is another point of doubt that he has not yet figured out.

What Douglas said may not be true, and the real reason the cult took action against him may differ from what he said.

Even the promises he makes may not be kept.

We don't have enough information right now; we need to learn more before making a decision.

While Mordy was deep in thought, Valentine had already led him to a museum.

Contrary to his expectations, the museum was located in a rather remote area, with low foot traffic and a rather deserted atmosphere.

Valentine walked alongside him, introducing him to the exhibits next to them, all of which were artifacts unearthed from their planet of origin.

He nodded from time to time to show that he was listening, and then glanced at the collections, sorting out the information they contained.

"It's a bit deserted here. Is it usually like this, with very few people coming?" Modi suddenly asked.

Valentine was taken aback, not expecting him to ask such a question.

"That's true. After all, this museum is located in a remote area, and few people pass through this dimension. Moreover, the exhibits here are all old artifacts from before the Enlightenment, so there are naturally few people who would be interested in them."

"Apart from scholars, basically no one cares about them; people pay more attention to the legacy of the Enlightenment era."

After saying that, he added, "The Age of Enlightenment was the period when divine light descended and enlightened us."

"I see," Modi said with a smile. "It's clear that your followers are very devout."

"Haha, actually, many people just don't realize that before the Enlightenment, we had a Dark Age."

Valentine shrugged and smiled.

"Until recently, they all thought that the Enlightenment was the starting point of everything."

A while ago?

Mordi stared into his eyes, catching a glimpse of something profound within them.

He seemed to have something to say.

"Please follow me, Your Excellency. Next, you will see the most precious collection in this museum."

He led the way, and Mordy followed behind, becoming increasingly certain that he had more than just been a guide; he had other purposes.

The two walked through an extremely long corridor, where a series of testing procedures operated silently, with various testing methods falling on them and then quickly fading away.

These methods are extremely subtle; if it weren't for someone with Modi's keen senses, it would be impossible to detect their existence.

"Please forgive us, but the place we are going to is a secret location of the Order," Valentine said apologetically. "For security and confidentiality, we have to set up a lot of detection mechanisms."

"I understand." Modi nodded, his gaze inadvertently meeting one of the detection devices. He asked with a puzzled look, "Most of your detection devices seem to target the path of light. As far as I know, the path of light has long since weakened. Why are they set up like this?"

"After all, it's hard to guard against thieves within the family. We believe in the Holy Light, and most of the extraordinary individuals within the cult have also followed the path of light. In order to prevent some apostates, we have no other choice but to do this."

After Valentine finished speaking, he stopped in front of a heavy door.

Unlike the teleportation bubble that Mordy had seen before, this door-shaped teleportation device was more solid and had a more complex internal structure.

The landing point on the other side of the door is not fixed and is constantly changing. You must master the correct method to ensure that the place behind the door is your target.

To paraphrase Modi, this thing is...

"Are you sure this is a teleportation device, and not an execution trap?"

"Of course, we only added some extra features to it to ensure security."

Valentine smiled and pressed the door a few times. A moment later, the door opened inward, revealing a slowly rotating vortex behind it.

"We generally call it the Gate of Remembrance," so please be prepared that the subsequent teleportation process may not be smooth.

Having said that, he stepped into the vortex behind the door first, with Modi following closely behind.

The whistling sound swept past my ears, and the disorienting space overwhelmed my senses.

Valentine gritted his teeth and did his best to adapt to the process.

"Every time I have to go through this thing, it's torture. Luckily, it doesn't take too long... Ah, we're here."

He opened his eyes and was greeted by a desolate landscape.

Beside him stood Modi, whose expression remained unchanged.

"It's indeed not very stable. Your teleportation technology needs an upgrade. Speaking of which, you should have a more advanced..."

A more stable technology, perhaps?

His gaze swept across the desolate wasteland, and Modi continued, voicing his conjecture: "Or is it that your teleportation involves not only the spatial dimension, but also the temporal dimension?"

His gaze was sharp as a sword, piercing Valentine's eyes and causing him to instinctively tremble.

"Your perception is truly sharp," he said with a wry smile, "You discovered it so quickly."

Since the truth had been exposed by Modi, he simply stopped hiding it and openly admitted, "That's right, this is a fragment of time that we captured, a time in the past."

"The past?" Mordy looked at the sparse vegetation around him and guessed, "This must be your origin planet, right?"

"Yes, or rather, this is one of them."

"7

As he spoke of this, a hint of sadness appeared in Valentine's eyes, and he made little attempt to conceal it.

Modi noticed the change in his expression, but did not point it out. Instead, he focused his attention back on the dimension itself.

"What exactly do you want to show me by bringing me here?"

"A piece of history, a truth, please wait a moment, it should be here soon."

As he spoke, Valentine looked up at the sky. Although the azure sky was empty, he seemed to be able to see through the atmosphere, his gaze fixed on a certain spot in the sky.

Not knowing what he was looking at, Mo Di followed along and released his spiritual sense to scan the surrounding wasteland.

As he expected, there was no one on the entire wasteland, only various wild animals and the apes he was familiar with.

The latter always hunt in packs, together with the former, and while there are often casualties, they usually emerge victorious.

"Have you learned how to use the tools yet?" Mordy muttered.

"That's right, but this insignificant achievement is probably not worth mentioning at all in front of us," Valentine chimed in.

For some reason, Modi seemed to detect a hint of sarcasm in his words.

Did he say that with genuine respect?

Before he could investigate the matter further, he heard Valentine say, "He has come."

Looking up, the azure sky suddenly darkened, as if the heavens were completely obscured by something, and even the outlines of the stars could not be seen.

"A solar eclipse? No, it's not that. Something blocked the sky, and that thing is..."

'

Just as Mordy was about to utter the name of the thing, a series of flashes suddenly appeared in the darkness, drawing his attention.

The series of flashes blasted through the entire obscuring object from the outside in, but before Mo Di and his companion could even see the scenery beyond the darkness, the blurry darkness surged up once more.

The hole that had just been blasted was filled in, and everything before seemed to have been in vain.

"The main body is some kind of laser weapon, right? It seems like there's some kind of explosive weapon mixed in as well," Modi analyzed.

He has figured out the situation; there is only one answer: evil extraterrestrial invaders are fighting against space defense facilities.

"Yes, this is the first day of revelation. The divine light descended from the void, and the self-disciplined defenses of the old era clashed with Him and were ultimately destroyed by Him."

Valentine stared intently at the sky, where flames were constantly rising, mourning and remembering.

The only thing missing was the fervent faith of a pilgrimage.

"According to you, your theory should have been proven long ago," Mordy said, focusing on another point. "Why do you say it's still just a theory?"

"You should understand that there are some things that cannot be known to the public, otherwise it will only cause unnecessary losses," he responded calmly.

For example, upon learning the truth, doubts arose and unrest ensued; or the plans of the cult's leadership were disrupted.

A nation based on its believers is prone to chaos once its faith falters.

"That autonomous defense facility couldn't withstand the invasion," Mordy probed.

He then got the answer he wanted.

"Of course, an old relic that should have been scrapped long ago is no match for the Holy Light." Valentine said disrespectfully, as if he hadn't understood his implication.

"Now, the war should end. Please witness what is about to happen."

"Yes, I'm watching."

Modi vaguely sensed what Valentine wanted him to see, so he simply watched along with him.

Fireworks exploded one after another in the sky, but the intervals between them grew longer and longer, silently announcing the demise of the self-regulating defense system.

It's unclear why it identified the Holy Light as a hostile target, or why it remained there, but Mordy could sense the sadness Valentine was emanating from it.

As the last flame disappeared, the commotion in the sky finally subsided, and darkness once again shrouded the heavens. Both of them could guess what would happen next.

"I apologize for making you laugh," Valentine said, his expression solemn as he composed himself. "Now is the time for Him to bestow the light of enlightenment."

Modi did not respond, but simply stared at the black curtain above the sky, remaining silent.

In the pure and heavy darkness, a very thin beam of light suddenly flashed, like the light breaking through the clouds, splitting the darkness in half.

To the uninformed, this scene looked like the coming of the Savior, and in an age of ignorance, this single act could have garnered countless believers.

Unfortunately, he was facing a group of unintelligent apes.

As darkness first descended, they hid in the caves, some huddled together trembling, others hugging their knees and hiding in corners, watching the scene outside that they could not understand, their eyes filled with fear.

They don't yet have a concept of "God," or even a shared imagination to support it; this scenario is still too early for them.

But this aligns perfectly with the idea of ​​the being in heaven; what He needs is not a group of intelligent beings, but a group of monkeys that have not evolved intelligence.

So he sent down the light of enlightenment, which spread in countless parts across the wasteland, and personally promoted those mindless apes.

Modi witnessed the entire process of Qizhi's enlightenment and thus discerned some clues.

"I think I understand," he murmured, glancing at Valentine beside him.

He knew exactly what the First Bishop wanted him to see.