The middle-aged man, who was curled up on the ground, blinked his eyes hard. It was as if his memories, thoughts, soul, and body had been divided into different layers by some kind of power. As a result, he couldn't think and understand what was happening in front of him like a complete human being. This state lasted for a few more seconds before some messy and broken pieces of thought were reorganized in his consciousness. He finally remembered who he was and who the woman in front of him was.
"Bertilla …" He spoke hesitantly. His voice was so hoarse that it did not sound like a human's voice. Chaotic thoughts hit his mind, and as his memory recovered bit by bit, his expression finally became more and more frightened. "I … I … You have done it all …"
He suddenly stopped as if he had just realized the strangeness of his' body '. He looked down at his human body, and a look of panic appeared on his face. He then almost used his hands and feet to prop himself up. As he tried to stand, he muttered to himself, "This is not real … This is an illusion. What have you done to me? Don't joke about this … "
"This is the last peace of your soul, my 'compatriot'." Bertilla just looked at the man in front of her quietly from beginning to end. Her voice was also very calm. "You can't go back. Your body, if that is your body, has collapsed and mutated because of facing the appearance of God. Now it is gradually disintegrating, and your consciousness has been brought here by me. This is the depths of the neural network, a space that I have built with my own thinking nodes. Betheim, if you still have a little bit of rationality and humanity left, then remember as soon as possible. Remember everything you have done. We don't have much time to waste. "
Betheim, or the Betheim condensed from memories, suddenly stopped struggling. He stopped trying to stand up and looked ahead with a stunned expression. His unfocused eyes seemed to be looking at some endless distant past. Then he collapsed little by little and knelt in the endless flower field. He held his head with both hands and let out a howl that humans could hardly make.
Bertilla looked at him until Betheim was temporarily quiet. Then she slowly said, "I'm sorry, I can only use this method to forcibly summon the original 'you', but now it seems that an early 'you' cannot bear the hundreds of years of dark memory, which has caused great pressure on your conscience."
"We have wandered in the dark and desperate wasteland for hundreds of years … We calculated, we deduced, we took root in the rotten soil, coexisted with the power that mortals could not understand, and tried to figure out the path again and again … We came to a conclusion, we came to a conclusion …" Betheim whispered. "That is a dead end. We have calculated it three hundred years ago. It is a dead end … It won't work …"
"Yes, it won't work, we know that now. But fortunately, we are not the only ones trying to survive in this world. Cecil and his people found another way, and you are trapped in the depths of the darkness. Your thoughts are also trapped there, and you can't see the existence of other paths." Bertilla looked down. "Betheim, even today, I am still grateful for the sacrifice you made when you rushed into the wasteland. I believe that at least in the beginning, your oath was sincere. But the darkness and despair are far beyond what mortals can resist. All of us have underestimated the malice of this world."
"It's too late, it's too late to say this now …" Betheim finally looked up, and a distorted face appeared in front of Bertilla. "I don't know how long I can stay in this state. Great anger and hatred are gradually covering my mind. I even want to … kill you. Hurry up and ask, Saintess. I almost can't recognize your face."
"What do you want to do?" Bertilla did not want to waste any more time. "You put those runestones in the Deep Blue Mesh. What do you want to do with them?"
"Deep Blue Mesh … runestones … I remember now." Betheim's facial muscles twitched. As he recalled the secrets of the Cult of Darkness, the boundless malice and anger became more and more abundant. He resisted the power and quickly said, "This is the plan of Hierarch Borken. We … we need to tame the planet under our feet, and the magic circulation system that runs through the entire planet and can interfere with the material and non-material worlds at the same time is the natural 'rein'. We have to hold the rein in our hands …"
He suddenly coughed violently and panted heavily for a few seconds before continuing. "All our suffering, all the malice of this world comes from two things. One is the gods, and the other is the 'magic shock' that occasionally sweeps through all the stars. The former … the former brings about divine calamity that destroys all things, and the latter … the latter temporarily changes the boundaries of all things. The Mana Tide … yes, we call it the Mana Tide …"
"The magic shock that occasionally sweeps through all the stars?" Bertilla suddenly noticed this special term. "What does this mean? Is this your understanding of the Mana Tide? How did you get to this point? "" I don't know.
"I don't know … This knowledge is not our work, but the elven sisters. They said that the universe reverberates with the most primitive magic oscillation. This oscillation is like layers upon layers of nets, wandering back and forth between the stars. It is the original form of all things in the world, and it is also the 'base wave band' of magic. When this power passes over the stars, all the 'illusory stars' will burn and shine brightly, while all the 'solid stars' will be soaked in a powerful force field. The minds of all intelligent beings will be affected, their cognition will deviate from all things, and the boundary between solid and non-solid will be blurred. They also mentioned … also mentioned …"
Betheim's eyes suddenly became a little unfocused as if another consciousness was about to take over his mind. But in the next second, Bertilla pressed on his shoulder and forced him to wake up. "What else did they mention?"
"The magnification and dislocation of the observer effect … the loss of the boundary between the projection in the deep sea and the 'original' in the physical universe … That's all I know. Most people only know this. Perhaps Patriarch Borken knows more behind this, but I'm not sure …"
"… It seems that this is the understanding of the 'Mana Tide'," Bertilla said in a low voice. She then observed Betheim's condition before asking, "What does this have to do with you throwing runic stones? What do you mean by the 'taming' of the planet that you just mentioned? "
"To stop the magic shockwave … We want to create an eternal, safe world … Seven hundred years ago, the explosion in the Deep Blue Well was not the real Mana Tide. On the contrary, a powerful planetary-level magic gushed out and blocked the shockwave that swept over the planet. We are trying to recreate this process and control this process," Betheim said in a low and hoarse voice. His speech was sometimes intermittent, and sometimes he was in a trance. But overall, Bertilla could understand what he was saying. "We want to use the runic stones to control the Deep Blue Net of the entire planet, and then actively trigger it to explode. If the control is precise, the planet itself will not disintegrate, and we will have a barrier that shrouds the planet …
"This barrier will last forever, it will isolate our planet from the malevolent universe, and we will never be harmed by the Mana Tide. It will also cut off the connection between the mortal world and the gods, and become a high wall between the world and the deep sea. The gods will never be able to find us … Like a baby returning to the safety of its cradle, forever and ever …"
Bertilla stared at Betheim with her eyes wide open. She did not speak for a few seconds. Then she suddenly said, "Do you really think this can be exchanged for eternal safety?"
"The grand hierarch said so, and so did the elven sisters," Betheim said in a low voice. "As long as we wrap our planet carefully, and cut it off from the outside universe forever, and only receive the limited energy from the sun, we can build a permanent home. At least … it can last until the sun above us goes out, and that will take many, many years."
Bertilla did not know how to comment on this crazy plan. But she suddenly thought of another very important point. "Wait, you said you are going to trigger the 'explosion' of the Deep Blue Net. How many people will die in the process?"
"Like the Kingdom of Gondor seven hundred years ago," Betheim said in a low voice. "This process is essentially recreating the birth of the wasteland of Gondor. Therefore, the entire mortal civilization will be destroyed, all mortal kingdoms will perish, and more than ninety percent of the world's creatures will go extinct in the process. But there will still be some survivors, like us in the wasteland of Gondor. They will slowly evolve into our appearance in the soaked environment of the Deep Blue magic … and finally, adapt to this new world."
Betheim paused for a moment, and said slowly in a low voice, "Our appearance is the future of all things."
"You are really crazy …" Bertilla's eyes widened as she stared at the middle-aged man before her. "Turning the entire planet into an environment like the wasteland of Gondor, destroying all civilized nations, leaving only a few mutated freaks like you wandering the wasteland of the planet … What is the meaning of such a 'peaceful home'? What is the meaning of such long-term 'protection'? "
"But at least, the creatures on this planet will no longer have to face the demonic tide and divine calamity." Betheim shook his head. "And after a long time, perhaps further 'evolution' will come. The wandering mutated creatures may build new civilizations, and the wasteland environment may breed more life forms. What is a terrible and hopeless environment to you may be a fertile land for another group of creatures … Bertilla, do you know? After wandering the Gondor wasteland for seven hundred years, I actually feel that the dark and decaying land is still alive … Time can change everything. "
"But this should not be the fate of the civilized nations, and you have no right to cut off their future." Bertilla looked into Betheim's eyes. "If we are going to face the end of the world, then we are willing to fight to the death, willing to fight to the last man on the battlefield, willing to face the end in resistance. Instead of you creating a natural disaster, and cutting off everyone's future in the name of resisting the enemy, and in the end, listening to you saying that this is protecting the world of the future."
"… You are right, but unfortunately, we, who have been in the wasteland for so many years, no longer think like you." Betheim twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a twisted and almost ugly smile. "Including me. When my last bit of rationality and conscience dissipates, I only feel that your words are childish and sanctimonious."
"Perhaps, this is the sorrow of all of us." Bertilla sighed softly. "Let's continue, Betheim … I now know your real purpose. Now I want to know about those runestones. What is your next plan? How many more runestones do you want to release? If you complete all the release plans … how will you start them? "
"Our release progress … is already more than half. I don't know the details of the whole plan, but I think we need at least … need another one-third of the runestones to achieve the 'taming' of this planet." Betheim's tone was a little hesitant, as if he was competing with himself for some kind of 'leadership', but in the end, his words flowed smoothly. "The Deep Blue Network is very complicated. It is not possible to release a large number of runestones into the network in one go. The suitable nodes are limited …
"Originally, we had found almost enough nodes in the wasteland. Under the premise of not disturbing the central node, the Deep Blue Well, we could have sent more than 90% of the runestones into the predetermined pulse flow. But then the plan changed. Some of the runestones in the nodes were intercepted by the sirens. In the end, we had to look outside the barrier …
"The most important node is located at the Ancestor's Peak. In the depths of that mountain, there is a natural magic source that is not inferior to the Deep Blue Well. The locals know nothing about it and only regard the magic rich environment near the Ancestor's Peak as a gift from their ancestors …
"Other predetermined nodes are located in the depths of the mountains in the north of the continent. There is one in each of the two swamps at the border of the Duchy of Holy Dragon. There are three in the eastern extension of the Gloom Mountain Range. There is one in the Shadow Swamp at the border of Typhon. There are two in the Blue Rocky Hills in the south of the continent. There are three in the northwest of the Kingdom of Kaolin …
"The number of runestones needed to be released at each release point varies. The minimum is one, and the maximum is four or five. The runestones have the function of self-navigation and positioning in the Deep Blue Vein Flow. They will begin to move after entering the network …"
Betheim's tone gradually became low, but he continued to narrate everything he knew. During the long process, Bertilla remained serious and listened attentively. She did not miss a single word.
After a while, Betheim's voice finally quieted down completely.
He seemed to be in a deep sleep. His head was lowered as he sat in front of Beltyra. His body was motionless. The memory entity that retained its conscience seemed to have completely left this' body ', leaving only an empty shell on the spot.
But soon, a new consciousness grew in the corner of this shell. This body began to tremble. Accompanied by hoarse and rough breathing, this body that had been motionless for a long time suddenly raised its head. His eyes were filled with anger and hatred. The muscles on his face twitched, and a hoarse and distorted voice squeezed out from his throat, "Bethel Ti …"
However, this roar only had time to burst out a few words before it abruptly stopped. The flower field that was full of pure white flowers suddenly wriggled. The originally cute and harmless flowers and plants intertwined into a huge mouth full of sharp teeth, swallowing Betheim's rapidly distorting "body" in one gulp.
The next second, the flower field regained its calm, and not a single trace was left. Only Bertilla, wearing a light green dress, stood quietly in the same place, watching the sea of flowers gently swaying in the breeze.
"Have a safe journey, Betheim."
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