There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

The warning they intended to leave for their descendants was never delivered; instead, it became a source of endless searching for the Navigators' Alliance. After learning about this from old Kai, I began investigating everything.

Yes, compared to the "great nation" that failed to deal with the unknown existence, the old miners had dealt with the "final disaster" before, and the extent of their control and the extent of their destruction were even greater than the actions taken against the "Deepsea Cataclysm" in parallel worlds.

Perhaps these old men have unique insights?

"Old man... cough cough, sir, are you saying there's still a chance to salvage everything?"

As I asked with enthusiasm, old Yorkson's voice slowly came through.

【You still don't understand what you're facing, nor how this enemy can instill such despair... When I was researching history, I discovered many clues, thinking I had uncovered the truth, but upon further investigation, I always found many more shocking things.】

What if I told you that what's appearing in the heavens isn't what you imagine? What if this world is built upon it? What if a tiny fragment it scatters across infinite dimensions transforms into the annihilation of billions of universes? What if its shallow understanding of history can be easily rewritten and forever overwritten by it?

...Whoever can do all this, wouldn't they be a complete god? This is even more terrifying than going against the rules!

While rules are unavoidable and undefendable, there are always ways to explore, try, figure out the patterns, and even make use of them. But if what is in front of us is a god, especially a god that is so chaotic and beyond our comprehension, what way is there to fight against him?

Even figuring out God's thoughts is harder than ascending to heaven. How can I possibly know whether God would choose to slack off, create Adam and Eve, or form a party branch with three people on the seventh day of creation?

Even if I had the courage to guess, history can be easily rewritten in its hands. I'm just a "brain in a vat," how can I know if my thoughts have also been altered?

If it's been modified, even if I open the scriptures and find that it says, "God said, 'Let there be light,' and after a meeting of the organization, everyone agreed, and there was light," and the editor of the cover is Adam, the organizing committee member, I will still believe it without a doubt.

[Don't be so pessimistic; your thinking is far too simplistic. The "Lord of Billions" has neither the reason nor the interest to understand or change your ideas. What caused the ancient maritime empire to collapse was their discovery that their history had been unconsciously altered during the conflict. With the invasion, they discovered monsters in ancient rock paintings, their databases were extensively modified, and even the earth's strata were filled with the remains of a mass extinction—all of which never existed before the "Lord of Billions" appeared. Who could possibly have the courage to resist?]

In this sense, the behavior of the "master of billions" is a stress response. The more the "great nation" resists, the more chaos there will be in the world, and history will be easily overturned and rewritten, ultimately forcing the "great nation" to submit completely.

"To subdue the enemy without fighting, the gods are truly terrifying..."

Old Yorkson said with a sardonic tone.

Do you think the "Lord of Light" is any different? Countless universes have been destroyed and conquered by it. Tiny beings like us haven't even noticed before they're swallowed by red giants, evaporated by supernovae, and annihilated by gamma-ray bursts. Old Kai even wanted to summon "Deepsea Cataclysm" to dispel the "Lord of Billions" in the sky. He only wanted to fight against the curse of fate, unaware that he would unleash even greater harm, burying this universe in the rotten and vicious lair of "Deepsea Cataclysm"...

"You actually knew about this? Luckily, Mr. Rhodes blew him into the sky with a single shot."

Back in Mineral Town, Old Kai often came to ask me about obscure and difficult incantations, and he seemed to have secretly tried some forbidden rituals. Although his intentions were good, in the face of these terrifying beings, no one can maintain their fragile humanity…

...Wait a minute, I just realized, if old Yorkson knew everything, why didn't the old man tell me sooner? What if he had been successfully summoned?

Immediately, old Yorkson read my thoughts—he wasn't a man of principle like old man Hook.

[You shouldn't know this yet. Because it will attract the attention of unspeakable beings. Every time you utter their names, try to imagine their appearance, or even have a fleeting memory of them, these beings might turn and stare at you. Actually, I only told Rhodes this...]

"Mr. Rhodes? Can he possibly know?"

Rhodes was merely a mortal, yet he possessed extraordinary qualities. He could exist independently in every moment of time, which granted him greater possibilities within his short life. And his love for Lilia ensured he would never lose his humanity… Even I must admit, sometimes love is more powerful than hate…

"So, was everything Mr. Rhodes orchestrated part of your plan all along?"

Holy crap, I knew Old Yorkson was behind all the conspiracies! I was just regretting getting involved and releasing the "Lord of Billions," but in the blink of an eye, Old Yorkson silently took the blame.

This behavior... is somewhat touching, how come?

[Rhodes also had his own thoughts, but our goals were aligned, and besides, Siennis wished to end all of this before he died. The "Lord of Billions" has an extremely strong hold on fate; this meme can transcend the unseen realm to summon and affect anyone. Fortunately, this swamp of chaotic cause and effect prevented anything from happening.]

Although I didn't understand it, I was deeply moved.

"...Just tell me what other options you have."

I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean: I bought my diploma under a pedestrian bridge.

[Marcus, the reason this land beneath your feet is shrouded in mist is because it was struck head-on by the Causality Cannon on the day the ancient maritime empire was destroyed.]

"Don't try to fool me, I'm not very well-educated. What kind of cannon could produce this kind of effect?"

The Causality Cannon's effect wasn't on any specific object, but rather on a concept, thus completely altering the cause and effect of life and death on Black Tide Island, plunging it into a state of chaos and uncertainty. However, this was merely a side effect; the true target of the cannon fire was the "Lord of Billions"...

"Wait a minute! Just tell me first, which film set did you borrow this 'Causality Cannon' from?! I've never even heard of it! If it's so powerful, why don't you just show it to us, JPY?"

Stop thinking about it. You'll never understand this problem. I don't know where the shelling came from or who fired it; I only know it was real.

[You could imagine that in some unknown time and space, there exists a civilization far more powerful than the ancient ocean empire, also facing the threat of the "Billion Lords." They then unleashed a causality cannon of unknown origin, attempting to annihilate the "Billion Lords" and achieve the feat of god-slaying...]

"Godslaying? If this wasn't done by a bald guy covered in paint and yelling wildly, I think it's highly unlikely. And what happened? Did it miss and hit here?"

The causal obliteration attack targets not only the "Lord of Billions," but also everything quantum-entangled with him, including the ancient ocean empire civilization. Furthermore, that other-dimensional civilization itself will be annihilated… This is not merely god-slaying, but also suicide! Nothing affected by the causal obliteration will survive!

Holding a gun...to his own forehead?

[The "Lord of Billions" exists simultaneously in countless timelines, and the terrifying causal cannon pierces through countless universes at the same time, utterly annihilating everything that resists, struggles, gives up, or falls, including the civilization inhabited by the causal cannon.]

But the final result...

My heart is heavy.

When faced with a god, civilization, no matter its level, is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. The "billionaire" before us is still reviving and invading, but the civilization that once used the causality cannon to kill the god and try to end everything has never appeared again. It must have been a futile effort, and ultimately, it failed.

Is there really no way out of this?

They did not completely fail.

Old Yorkson's tone grew increasingly stern. Although I couldn't see him, I could imagine the wrinkles on his face tightening and his hunched figure remaining resolute.

The Causality Cannon didn't obliterate the "Lord of Billions," but it proved the existence of countless parallel universes, and that these universes share commonalities. It's even highly likely that these countless parallel universes are all variants of a certain "prototype universe"... Didn't you yourself once travel to a parallel world's Mineral Town?

Speaking of that parallel and unfamiliar world, I'm reminded of Mr. Rhodes, who lost everything there. He faced a world deeply controlled and permeated by an evil god, yet he still chose to journey alone.

What can parallel universes prove?

[This is just a bold guess of mine...]

[I originally intended to use the power of the "Final Catastrophe" to verify certain events in parallel universes, but I underestimated the dangers of the indescribable existence and had to hide in the dream world. However, my experiment was realized in your hands. Do you remember the "reality anchors" you've seen in the normal world?]

"I remember, that thing was able to stabilize the erosion of the 'Deepsea Cataclysm.' If it weren't for the intervention of other entities, the professors at the University of Michigan would have really succeeded."

No, you don't understand the concept of a display anchor. After all, it's a technology provided by an evil god, and its dangers are no less than those of the mass-energy equivalence equation...

If we liken reality to fine sand evenly distributed throughout the world, when the sand in one region is removed for some reason, the reality in that region becomes weak. A stabilizing anchor stabilizes reality by drawing sand grains from the nearest neighboring parallel universe to fill the sand pits in our own universe; however, this action severely damages the parallel universes whose reality has been extracted.

"Uh, this nearest parallel universe you're talking about, it wouldn't be..."

[Is there any better proof than that you can travel through time? It's our world... Since then, the anomalies in various places have been intensifying, indicating that parallel worlds are indeed interconnected. Therefore, the invasion of the "Billionaire" is very likely related to this.]

But I don't really trust that claim.

"Old Yorkson, I believe that a reality anchor will affect the surrounding area, after all, it's a strongly correlated logical deduction. But how did you arrive at the behavioral logic of the 'Billionaire'? Could it be that the ancient maritime empire also used a reality anchor?"

The principle behind the operation of the reality anchor is the creation of virtual particles necessary to eliminate reality distortions. I suspect that the "Billions Lord" is attracted to virtual particles, and Kay's ancestors may have also attempted to utilize virtual particle technology...

...If virtual particles are the culprit, then the exact time of the disaster should be the moment when the "virtual particles" were created.

Coincidentally, I read a corresponding passage in the operating instructions spoken by the stone statue—the beginning of all kinds of disasters was the mysterious warning voice that the priest heard when he was studying the zero point of the vacuum.

If my diploma really wasn't bought under a pedestrian bridge, then the principle of zero-point vacuum energy is based on the phenomenon of "quantum vacuum fluctuations," studying the "virtual particles" born in a very short instant in the universe, and searching for the existence of "absolute vacuum"...

It matches up!

It actually matches!

I never imagined that something that seems so simple in theory and is practically impossible to achieve, even more so than "absolute zero," could involve such a terrifying existence.

Indeed, science is underpinned by theology, and theology by metaphysics. But metaphysics can't save the unlucky, and money can't change fate. The "great nation" probably never imagined that it would die because of such a bizarre research project. Of course, blaming "pseudo-energy" is not entirely wrong, since this research would not have been possible without the almost infinite energy of the pseudo-energy network.

"I need to calm down... How about you bring out Old Man Hook? I might feel better if I exchange a few words with him..."

[Hmph, Hook has been listening the whole time, he just doesn't dare to come out. I'll have to be the bad guy. When I first contacted the "Thousand-Faced God," he strongly opposed it, believing it was a betrayal of humanity. But how can we deal with these beings far beyond humanity without using equal power...? And how could I not know that this was part of the "Thousand-Faced God's" plan? After all, it's a terrifying demon god beyond dimensions...]

“I also suspect that the guy behind Psionic Power is… Actually, I saw the ‘Thousand-Faced God’ again later, and also encountered a strange clown.”

The "God of a Thousand Faces" seems interested in you, and then in humanity as well, which is why he temporarily shelved his plan to plunge the parallel world into chaos, watching Rhodes continue to struggle...

When the "God of a Thousand Faces" left behind so much forbidden knowledge in the parallel world's University Library, I should have guessed that He was also involved in the mastermind behind all of this. Otherwise, how could the parallel world, which also came into contact with "virtual particles," have remained unscathed?

I suspect that the "Lord of Billions" is trapped... Just like the sleeping "Ultimate Catastrophe," the sealed "Deep Sea Cataclysm," and the weakened "Lord of Light," these terrifying beings are all restricted within the multiverse. Only the "King of a Thousand Faces" can move freely, but he cannot recklessly invade all universes; he can only spread the mad chaos everywhere first...

So it's not that there's no way, but rather that humanity is simply too weak in their presence...

The conversation in their minds went unspoken, so a deathly silence still enveloped the surroundings.

My mind is filled with troubling thoughts and questions.

Even though the environment has not changed, the protection of the stone statue and the light emanating from the real jade no longer give people peace of mind.

The world before me is no longer the world I know. The barriers of time and space have become incredibly close, and inhuman limbs could reach out from the air in front of me at any moment and pull me into the abyss.

After all, in this ultimate abyss, there is no longer any concept of time and space. In fact, time itself is an illusion; only those beings confined to finite dimensions with limited perspectives would believe in things like past, present, and future.

Those beings outside of dimensions, however, can control various perspectives according to their will and grasp the vast majority of the universe's appearance—those fragmented and changing scenes, or the overall picture that transcends local scenes.

[Marcus, there's no need to think about these things. The world has long since changed beyond recognition. In a history spanning over three thousand years, countless things have crumbled and vanished in the face of harsh truths, just like the inexplicable knowledge in your mind—perhaps a remnant of some extinct civilization.]

"Prosperity and decline are the norm for civilizations, but not the norm I'm willing to accept. Otherwise, I'd just lie down and give up; what's the point of struggling?"

It looks so alike... so very alike...

I asked, puzzled, "What does it look like?"

[Like a person... I had actually given up on this research long ago, because even if I succeeded, there was nothing I could do. After all, the technological gap is an insurmountable chasm. To succeed would mean destruction, and to fail would only mean certain death. It was a doomed question. But one day, a strange person came to Mineral Town and said he wanted to buy a ranch...]

The vague explanation sent a chill down my spine, a jolt of electricity running from the top of my head to my heels. Before I could even process the information, I was already instinctively thinking and trying to respond.

"...Make old man Hook come out and see me! No wonder that old man was hiding! Make him come out!"

pasture!

This ranch!

A ranch inexplicably appeared under my name, located in the desolate old world, making me feel like I was being airdropped from the dazzling world!

I've asked Old Man Hook countless times how the ranch was sold, and he always tells me that he sold the ranch to the Federal Mortgage Fund a long time ago to support himself, and he doesn't know who the federal government auctioned it off to.

But the more I learned about him, the more I felt that a skeptic like Old Man Hooker wouldn't just abandon everything he knew and choose to fly away for no reason. His actions must have been part of a long-term plan.

Out of respect for Old Man Hook's commitment to Mineral Town and his fight against the "Final Catastrophe," I didn't directly doubt him. But Old Man Yorkson's words today directly prove that there was a clear deal between Old Man Hook and my father!

[Don't rush. Hook isn't coming out. You'd better let me finish the story.]

The stranger told Hook that he was a scholar of interplanetary civilizations, traveling to various planets to study dead civilizations, and wanted to buy the ranch from him. Hook naturally refused, but the stranger told him that he was working on a project that might solve his worries—because he had discovered that long ago, a group of incredibly powerful warriors had gone to the ends of the universe to face a catastrophe…

They talked a lot that day, including a trip to the edge of the universe, special discoveries in cosmic rifts, the impact of frequent disasters on the cosmic ecosystem, how to make a rum sandwich, and so on. He finally told Hook that his next step was to put aside all his research projects and start from scratch to study biochemistry in order to create a living miracle...

"...That man is my father, isn't he?"

Strictly speaking, he was merely your creator, your true "father"... I don't know either.

[But after getting to know you, Hook and I gradually realized that you are the only mortal with the power to confront the gods, the only contestant capable of continuously creating miracles, and the only human being who, deep down, wants to transcend dimensions to find the truth!]

"You might as well just tell me I'm invincible and go to the top to get killed—how could I possibly handle those things in the sky?!"