The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

"Eternal Night"—a name that truly lives up to its name.

The Stargazer seemed to have plunged headlong into thick ink, absorbing all light and heat. Outside the portholes was absolute, chilling darkness; even the faint glow of distant stars, which should have been part of the background, seemed to have been greedily sucked away by some unseen force. Only the suppressed, eerie green and dark red indicator lights from the starship's own equipment cast faint shadows inside, outlining the solemn and tense profiles of the crew. Absolute silence enveloped the bridge; even the already barely audible hum of the life support systems and energy circulation seemed to be absorbed and swallowed by the thick darkness, leaving only an ear-piercing illusion, as if the vacuum itself were humming.

The navigation system completely failed; the star chart was blank, with only the preset inertial direction data from the final entry into the edge of the perpetual night still slowly fluctuating. Conventional sensors transmitted only a chaotic, featureless noise. They seemed to be sailing on the bottom of an endless, black ocean, devoid of all coordinates, losing their sense of up, down, left, and right, and their accurate perception of speed and time.

The only guidance came from Lina's intuition and the Star Key that continued to emit a faint resonance in the isolation tank, but whose sense of direction became blurred and elusive after entering this place.

"My senses... are suppressed." Lina's voice broke through the silent communication channel, trembling slightly. Her eyes were closed, her hands pressed against a specially made metal sphere to enhance her spiritual perception, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "It's like... listening to sounds underwater, through a thick, viscous layer. The 'rhythm' of the starry background is almost inaudible, only a deep, subtly echoing 'silence.' The resonance of the Star Key... is still there, but very weak, like the sound of wind coming through countless walls, its direction... hard to pinpoint, constantly shifting."

The "echoes" she described were the only perceptible, unnatural "movements" in this absolute darkness. It wasn't sound, but rather an extremely faint, delayed "feedback" from space itself, or some kind of inert energy field diffused in the darkness, to anything that entered its range. This feedback was distorted, chaotic, and difficult to decipher, yet it became Lina's only reference point for orienting herself and avoiding potential dangers. She had to concentrate intently, amidst countless chaotic echoing "ripples," to capture that one extremely peculiar "ripple" belonging to the Star Key, carrying the contradictory aura of "primordial" and "order," and to determine its source.

"Spatial structure scans show we're traversing an extremely complex region of 'spatial folds'," Instructor Verna's voice was equally low. On the holographic screen before her, lines representing spatial curvature twisted into a dizzying jumble, occasionally turning a deep red—a color signifying extreme danger—before quickly fading away. "There's no pattern; the formation and disappearance of the folds seem random, yet... they subtly conform to some deep mathematical logic we can't comprehend. Our course must rely on Lina's warnings, navigating through the 'gaps' of the folds. Any misjudgment could lead to us being swallowed by the folded space or crashing into a suddenly formed 'spatial fault.'"

The Stargazer's speed had shrunk to a snail's pace, like a blind person groping their way through a labyrinthine passageway filled with invisible blades. Every tiny course adjustment was accompanied by a near-silent pulse from the engines at minimal power. The upgraded "full-band wave jammer" on the hull was operating at full capacity, not only counteracting the "marking" waves of the Star Key, but also attempting to interfere with the energy "noise" generated by the ship itself during navigation, which might be amplified or reflected by this strange environment, in order to avoid attracting unknown attention.

"Barton, Elder Anderson, maintain maximum alert. The environment here might be 'nurturing' something that conventional detection methods can't detect," Rowe's calm voice rang out in the channel. He, too, closed his eyes and focused intently, using the faint resonance of the Star Key to assist Lina in correcting her direction, while simultaneously maximizing his own astral perception, vigilant against any non-physical threats that might come from the depths of darkness. He felt his astral power flowing somewhat sluggish here, as if the darkness itself possessed a subtle property of suppressing active energy. His mid-stage Second Ring Star Speaker level couldn't be fully utilized here, but his long-term practice of "Stardust Tracking," which had given him a keen intuition for energy flow and environmental integration, allowed him to detect any disharmony earlier than most.

Time lost its meaning in the darkness. Perhaps several hours had passed, perhaps only a day. It was in this nerve-wracking fumbling that the strange thing happened.

It was neither an attack nor a discovery of a target.

The faint crystalline patterns on the surface of Ai Rui's body, which had been sleeping peacefully in the medical pod, suddenly lit up with an extremely faint, peculiar pale golden light without warning! This light was not stable, but flickered like breathing. Each flicker was accompanied by an extremely subtle "ding-dong" sound, as if crystals were gently colliding, that directly affected the soul.

"Irene is responding!" Lilith's exclamation rang out in the channel.

Almost simultaneously, Lina suddenly opened her eyes, pointing in a direction to the left front of the ship, her voice filled with surprise and doubt: "That direction! Just now... the resonance of the Star Key suddenly became clear for a moment! But what was even more obvious was... an 'echo' that was very similar in frequency to the light emanating from Irene's body! Very ancient, very... sorrowful, like a forgotten bell being tossed by the wind..."

Rowe immediately ordered, "Slow down! Turn around and approach slowly in the direction Lina indicated. Instructor Verna, scan the area and pay attention to energy signatures. Lilith, closely monitor Airy's condition!"

The "Stargazer" slowly adjusted its attitude. As it approached, the sensors began to detect anomalies. The darkness in that area seemed "deeper" than elsewhere, and its absorption of the scanning beam was stronger. However, on the passive receiver in the psionic band, extremely weak but definitely present and regular pulse signals began to appear, their frequency subtly matching the rhythm of the light flashing on Airi's body.

"A low-intensity, highly stable inert psionic field has been detected. The field structure... exhibits a highly ordered geometric shape, similar to... a large, inactive psionic rune array or... the outer structure of a seal." Verna analyzed quickly, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. "The energy characteristics are similar to 'Evolutionary Remnants' and 'Crystal Remains Forbidden Zone,' but more restrained and ancient, and... it seems to be in a state of 'dormant' or 'standby.' This is very likely the outer barrier of the 'Twilight Remnants' node!"

Found it! After a long and perilous voyage, they have finally reached their target!

However, just as the starship attempted to get closer to obtain more detailed scan data, the mutation occurred again!

The darker area seemed to be awakened by their approach, and its surface suddenly rippled with visible, pale silver-gray waves! At the same time, the light emanating from Ai Rui suddenly became brighter and faster. She sat up abruptly from the medical bed, her eyes still tightly closed, but her face showed an extremely painful expression. She held her head in her hands and let out a suppressed, fearful whimper.

"Warning! High-intensity rule disturbance detected! The activity of the psionic field in the target area has increased sharply! The stability of the spatial structure has decreased!" Verna reported urgently.

Within that dark region, at the center of the pale silver-gray ripples, a colossal "wall" slowly emerged—composed of countless flowing, translucent silver runes! This wall stretched endlessly across the void, extending upwards, downwards, leftwards, and rightwards, seemingly severing the entire darkness. The runes on the wall were not static, but rather flowed and combined in a slow, solemn, and coldly orderly rhythm, emanating a soul-chilling pressure of order—of the same origin as the "Shadow of Libra," but far more ancient and more "institutionalized"! This was not an offensive force, but an absolute barrier of rules declaring "this path is blocked!"

"The 'Order Lock'! In the records of the Primordial Spirit Race, it's one of the highest-level seals used by the Stasis Court to seal and isolate high-priority 'variables' or 'forbidden knowledge'!" Verna gasped, her face turning deathly pale. "How could it be here? Could it be that the 'Twilight Remnant' node was already discovered and completely sealed by the Tribunal?!"

This conjecture sank everyone's hearts to the bottom. If the node was sealed by such a powerful lock, there was absolutely no way they could break through it with their current strength. Had they gone through so much trouble to get here only to find a door that could never be opened?

Just then, Airi's painful sobs turned into intermittent, dreamlike whispers, still that eerie psychic broadcast mixed with countless echoes: "...No...the key...wrong...the door...the lock has been changed...the cold lock...covers...the warm door..."

"Wrong key? Lock changed?" A thought struck Luo Wei as he looked at the Star Key in his hand. Was it because the Star Key was contaminated by the "marking" crack, preventing the "Order Lock" from recognizing it as the correct "key"? Or was the Lock itself a "new lock" later installed by the Stasis Court and placed over the entrance to the Primal Remnant?

He attempted to infuse his own star power into the Star Key, stimulating its "Source Seed" resonance, and pointed it at the silver rune wall. The Star Key shone brightly, and the resonance intensified, but the flow of runes on the wall remained unchanged. Instead, the pressure of order emanating from it became even stronger, as if repelling and warning against this "impure" fluctuation that carried the aura of the "Source Seed" but was mixed with "order rifts."

"No, the Star Key failed verification, and it might even have triggered the Lock's defense mechanism." Verna exclaimed urgently, watching the rapidly rising psionic field readings. "We must retreat! The Lock's repulsive reaction is intensifying; it might actively attack unauthorized approachers!"

The Stargazer began to slowly retreat. However, as they disengaged, Ariel, who had been whispering in anguish, suddenly stopped sobbing. Her eyes remained closed, but the pained expression on her face was replaced by a strange, ethereal look. She slowly raised a hand, her fingertips pointing towards the massive silver rune wall, and in a dreamlike voice, clearly spoke:

"Look... behind the door... there's another door... it's hidden... but the shadow... is still there..."

As she spoke, the dark void in front of her fingertips, which was blocked by the silver rune wall, began to ripple like water! It wasn't the wall itself that was moving, but rather the scene "behind" the wall, under the instinctive and unconscious focus of Ai Rui's sealed "Interference Eye," projected an extremely blurry, distorted, but undeniably real phantom through this barrier of "Order Lock"!

Within the illusory image, a dilapidated, pale golden crystal platform, similar in style to the "Evolutionary Legacy" crystal structure but much smaller and simpler, could be vaguely seen, silently suspended in the depths of darkness. At the center of the platform, there seemed to be a structure resembling an altar, empty of anything, yet emanating a purer and gentler "primordial" aura, the same as the light emanating from Star Key and Airi.

That was the real "Twilight Remnant" node! That huge "Order Lock" wall, like a cold, silver iron plate that was forcibly pasted on later, blocked and sealed the original entrance behind it!

"It's a double-layered structure!" Verna understood instantly. "The original entrance to the Ruins (the pale gold platform) still exists, but the Court of Stasis discovered this place later, or perhaps as a precaution, added this 'Order Lock' outside for sealing and monitoring! What we need to break through is this later-added 'lock,' not the door to the Ruins itself!"

"But with our strength, how could we possibly break through this level of maze?" Elder Anderson said in a deep voice.

“Airi said, ‘The key is wrong.’” Luo Wei stared at the silver wall, his mind racing. “Perhaps, what’s needed to open this ‘lock’ isn’t the ‘Source Species’ key, but… something else? Or, does the ‘lock’ itself have a flaw? For example, does it only recognize and block ‘pure Source Species’ or ‘high-threat variables,’ but for beings like us… marked, ‘impure’ beings, or for ‘keys’ like Airi’s that have been ‘suppressed’ and ‘marked’ by themselves, would its reaction mechanism be different?”

He looked at Airi, who was still holding her hand up and had an empty look in her eyes, and a bold and risky plan took shape in his mind.

"Mentor Verna, immediately analyze the frequency of the light emanating from Irene's body, and the repulsive reaction pattern of that illusion barrier! Lilith, how much external psionic guidance can Irene's current mental state withstand?"

"The frequency of Ai Rui's light... has an extremely subtle phase difference with the inherent fluctuations of the Lock Barrier. It's not a complete repulsion, but rather like... a collision of two different 'orders'? One is cold and rigid, the other has a spiritual rhythm..." Verna quickly analyzed the data, her eyes growing brighter. "Her state is very peculiar, like an unconscious deep resonance. Her soul connection is extremely fragile, but she seems to have an instinctive connection with that illusory image of the legacy. Gentle, synchronized spiritual energy guidance might strengthen this connection, but the risk is extremely high. If the guidance goes wrong, or if the Lock Barrier's reaction intensifies, it could cause an irreversible soul impact on her."

Lowe took a deep breath and made a decision: "We can't force our way through the Maze Lock. Our only hope might lie with Airi. She can see 'the door behind the door,' and her energy frequency can subtly interact with the Maze Lock. We need to guide her, using her unconscious state to find a 'gap' in the Maze Lock barrier, or... make it 'recognize' us as 'processed low-threat variables,' thus allowing us to pass, or at least opening a temporary breach."

"This is too dangerous! Irene is completely defenseless right now!" Lilith immediately objected.

"But this is our only chance. Staying here will only lead to our exhaustion or discovery by the Tribunal observers lurking in the shadows." Lowe's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Airi. "Mentor Verna, you and I will use the gentlest, most synchronized astral and psychic energy to try and resonate with the light emanating from Airi, guiding her unconscious perception to 'touch' the labyrinthine barrier, searching for 'inconsistencies' or 'blind spots' in its fluctuation patterns. Lina, you are responsible for monitoring Airi's soul fluctuations throughout, immediately halting any signs of collapse. Elder Anderson, Barton, you are responsible for vigilance, ready to respond to any attacks the labyrinthine barrier might launch, or... anything else attracted there."

With the plan set, it was executed immediately. The starship hovered at a safe distance. Rowe and Verna entered the medical bay and stood on either side of Airi. Rowe placed his hand lightly on Airi's forehead, slowly channeling pure stellar energy infused with his own understanding, carefully adjusting the frequency to match the rhythm of the flickering pale golden light emanating from Airi's body. Verna, meanwhile, formed hand seals, using even purer psionic techniques to assist and stabilize this fragile resonance connection.

Lena closed her eyes and focused her mind, maximizing her spiritual awareness to "lock" Ariel's soul fire. Anderson and Barton were on high alert on the bridge, their weapon systems on the verge of activation, although they knew that physical weapons would be of little use against such a barrier of rules.

Guided by Rowe and Verna, the light emanating from Irene gradually stabilized and brightened. A strange, yet subtly resonant, sense of "interaction"—a connection between her and the ordered fluctuations emanating from the distant silver labyrinthine barrier—became increasingly clear. Irene's empty gaze seemed to pierce through the ship's hull and the darkness, fixedly "staring" at the runic wall. Her raised fingertips began to move extremely slowly and unconsciously in the air, the trajectory of which subtly mirrored, yet also subtly distorted, the flow of runes on the labyrinthine barrier.

Time passed second by second. Each second felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, Ai Rui's stroking fingers abruptly stopped! She uttered a few broken syllables again: "...Here...the lines...are tangled...the shadows...overlapping..."

Almost simultaneously, on the psionic scanner in front of Verna, the image of the silver energy field representing the Lock Barrier showed an extremely small, fleeting, and slightly darker "patch" in the approximate location pointed to by Airi's fingertip! The regular fluctuations at that "patch" showed a trace of almost imperceptible disorder and stagnation!

"Now!" Verna whispered.

Without hesitation, Luo Wei instantly amplified the guiding star power. It wasn't an impact, but rather an "embedding" and "synchronization" of intent. Following the extremely weak connection channel that Ai Rui had unconsciously opened between the chaotic point of the maze, he transformed his consciousness, the resonance of the star key, and the psionic identifier of the "Stargazer" into an extremely condensed and concealed "information stream," which he then forcefully "injected" into that fleeting chaotic point of rules!

There was no explosion, no light. But the moment Luo Wei's "information stream" entered the massive silver rune wall that stretched across the void, the runes flowing on its surface suddenly stopped! Immediately afterwards, a more obvious ripple spread out from the center of that "patch," and wherever the ripple passed, the "solidity" of the wall seemed to weaken, becoming slightly "transparent."

Behind the now "transparent" wall, the phantom of the dilapidated pale gold crystal platform suddenly became several times clearer! A clear, gentle "primordial" aura, carrying a distinct guiding force, gently brushed past the "Stargazer" like a breeze passing through a crack.

"The lock's recognition mechanism has experienced a brief malfunction! It may be misinterpreting us as 'recorded low-activity residual signals,' or triggering some ancient, pre-set 'loophole' protocol!" Verna's voice was filled with incredulous excitement. "A temporary, extremely unstable 'gap' has appeared in the passage! But it's very small, and it could close at any moment!"

"Attention all ships!" Luo Wei acted decisively, withdrawing his guidance of Airi (Airi's body went limp, and she fell unconscious again, but her breathing was steady). His mental energy was somewhat depleted from the precise maneuvers just now, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle's. "Target, the illusory figure of the Remnant beyond the gap in the maze! Engines at minimum power, concealment at maximum, pass through with the most precise control! Quickly!"

The Stargazer's engines emitted almost silent pulses, and the ship, like a nimble fish, adjusted to its most slender posture, aiming at the semi-transparent "gap" that had just appeared on the silver wall, which was rapidly shrinking and less than a third of the ship's width, and slowly and steadily glided over it.

The instant they passed through the crevice, everyone felt a strange sensation, as if passing through a cold, sticky film, a slight stinging and sluggishness reaching their very souls. Then, the scene before them abruptly changed!

The massive, suffocating silver "Order Lock" wall was left behind, quickly swallowed and obscured by darkness as if it had never existed. The "Stargazer," on the other hand, appeared in a much "brighter" space—not because there was a light source, but because the darkness was slightly less intense, as if a thin layer of pale golden psionic mist, faintly reflecting the starship's own indicator light, was floating there.

Directly ahead, less than a thousand kilometers away, the dilapidated, pale golden crystal platform seen in the illusory image floated silently in the center of the mist, undeniably real. The platform was small, only a few kilometers in diameter, its surface riddled with cracks and defects, yet its overall structure remained intact, radiating a tranquil, desolate, yet incredibly welcoming aura of the "Primordial." At the platform's center, the altar-like structure was clearly visible, empty of anything, yet seemingly the convergence point of energy and information for the entire space, perhaps even the entire "Twilight Remnant" node.

They succeeded! They traversed the "locks of order" set up by the Stasis Court and arrived at the true "Twilight Remnant" node!

However, before everyone could recover from the shock and exhaustion of their close call, Lina, who had been on guard, suddenly let out a short gasp and pointed to the area behind the platform, into the depths of an even denser, pale golden mist:

"There...there's something there! Not ruins...it's...alive? No...it's sleeping...it's huge...it feels...very strange...it's not like a crystal-devouring bacterium...it's not like a star beast...its 'voice'...is so quiet...and so sad...it seems...it's waiting for something..."

Everyone's hearts were in their throats again.

Within these dusty ruins and relics, what else slumbers besides the ruins and relics? Is it an ancient guardian? A primordial spirit race that miraculously survived? Or... an even more terrifying unknown being sealed here as well?

Having just escaped danger, the "Stargazer" hovered silently in front of the wrecked platform, facing the mysterious, slumbering "Sorrow" deep in the mist ahead, and the empty "keyhole" on the altar waiting to be filled, once again falling into a silent dilemma.

The search for eternal night is far from over. And the real test may have only just begun.