The test was over. Everyone had retreated to a "safe distance" from the silver-white metal pillar in the center of the hall. Byron was looking at the empty floor in front of him, deep in thought.
There seemed to be an invisible boundary here. Taking a step forward would be deemed as entering a certain "judgment area." The ancient system in the tower would then conduct an "evaluation" on the intruder. Those who did not meet a certain screening mechanism would be warned and driven away. Otherwise, nothing would happen.
Out of rational consideration, Byron certainly did not let the soldiers take the risk of ignoring the warning. Tens of thousands of years ago, the original elves who had mistakenly entered this place had already died. A super-advanced race was directly hit by the black technology left behind by the Voyager. They were a group of mental retardation and genetic disorder. When they ran out of here, they almost forgot how to drive their own ship. Byron, who knew this history, certainly would not bet on whether his soldiers could withstand the "security system" of the tower.
The results of the test were very obvious. Except for the three Sirens and Asalena, who was a dragon descendant, no one here met the "screening criteria" of the Voyager system. Or in the words of the warning, it was called "crossing the boundary condition."
"What do you think?" Asalena's voice came from the side. The red-haired Dragon Mark Witch looked into Byron's eyes rather seriously. "What do you think the problem is?"
"I suspect that the criteria is race. Humans do not meet this criteria, and neither did the original elves," Byron said in a muffled voice. "But sirens and Dragons do. Or rather, dragons do. I don't know the deeper reason. "
Kassandra crawled over from the side. The siren lady frowned slightly. "Then what's the difference between us? Are there any 'characteristics' that must be distinguished between sirens, Dragons, and humans in the eyes of the Voyager? "
"There is a big difference." Byron glanced at the siren lady. "There is no race in the world that is smaller than you sirens. The same goes for Dragons. The difference between a Giant Dragon and a human is much greater than the difference between humans, elves, and dwarves. Your origin can be traced back to 1.8 million years ago."
"Is this criteria based on strength? The degree of individual evolution? " Kassandra pondered seriously. Although most sirens gave the impression that they were reckless and harmonious, they were actually a race that liked to think. It was just that most of the time, the direction of their thoughts confused outsiders. "Or is it based on whether they have a tail? You see, I have a tail. Asalena also has a tail after becoming a Giant Dragon, but humans and elves do not. "
"What are you thinking? You should know that it's impossible even if you think with your molars and heels." Byron looked at Kassandra with a strange expression. As soon as his voice trailed off, Asalena, who was standing next to him, suddenly looked up from her thoughts and broke the silence. "Did you notice that the warning repeatedly mentioned the word 'overstepping'?"
"I noticed." Byron nodded. "What do you think?"
"… First of all, the evaluation criteria of this system should not be our 'race' itself because when the Voyager arrived, humans, elves, and sirens did not appear on this planet at all. So, the judgment criteria should be a certain attribute that has nothing to do with race. Second, the word 'overstepping' reminds me of many research projects of the Theocratic Council …"
She raised her head, and her eyes fell on the metal column not far away. Thoughtfully, she continued, "Crossing the boundary, surpassing the territory we are currently in and stepping into a brand new forbidden zone. In the domain related to God, this is a word with a special meaning, and the voice that appears directly in our head … should be the words that the advanced equipment in this tower has directly scanned our cognition and language system to select the corresponding words and sentences after selecting them. The Voyager's appearance on this planet is related to the gods' loss of control. Many of the things they left here are more or less related to the gods. This can be proved by the records of Tarlonde and the clues found by the Alliance in the Gate project not long ago. "
Byron's eyes turned serious. He had vaguely guessed what Asalena was going to say. "So, you think the judgment criteria of this tower is …"
"Trying to see if the race of the approaching lifeforms is bound to the 'gods'." Asalena nodded and looked up at the sirens not far away. "Although humans have lifted the influence of the Psionic Seal of some gods and have begun to try to loosen the shackles of the entire divine system on the race, there is still a long way to go. The sirens don't have this problem. They don't have the Psionic Seal, and the characteristics of the elemental lifeforms make them immune to the influence of ideologies. As for me …"
She shrugged with a strange expression on her face. "Dragons are adults. Dragons are still Dragons."
Byron opened his mouth and did not speak for a long time. It took him a few seconds to react. His throat moved twice as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he admitted that Asalena's guess was highly likely. "I'm afraid that's the case …"
"I'm just guessing." Asalena waved her hand. "After all, we can't do further testing and long-term research. The tower doesn't seem to want to answer any further questions. I just think that since it's the legacy of the Voyager, the 'security measures' inside must have something to do with the gods …"
Kassandra listened to the conversation between the two. Her eyes darted back and forth between Byron and Asalena several times. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she said, "Hey, wait, I suddenly remembered something. You said that humans are not 'qualified' because of the influence of the gods. But more than 700 years ago, Gwen Cecil climbed the Voyager's tower. At that time, it was one of my sisters who showed him the way. How do you explain this? Isn't he also a human? "
As soon as she said this, Byron's expression suddenly became strange. Frankly speaking, it was not appropriate to talk about the ruler of the empire in private. But now, the one who spoke was an 'insider' of the incident. And to be honest, Hao Ren was suddenly curious. He could not help but stroke the stubble on his chin. "The tower that His Majesty climbed is not the one in front of us, is it?"
Kassandra spread out her hands. "Not really. That tower is in the south of our kingdom. It should be far to the east from here. But the two towers look quite similar. Since they are both left behind by the Voyager, the 'evaluation criteria' inside should be similar, right? Especially this kind of tower that is related to the gods. You can't just switch to another tower to get in. "
The siren's words were very reasonable. This was indeed an inexplicable and objective fact. But there were many mysteries about Gwen Cecil's adventure 700 years ago. Many truths had been lost in the long history. Hao Ren had no intention of digging into the secrets of His Majesty. So he quickly shook his head. "This is not something I should think about. Later, I will just report what happened here. The key is what we should do now."
As his voice trailed off, Asalena thought for a moment and then stepped forward. "I want to go and have a look. If our judgment is correct, this should be the way to the top of the tower."
Byron was startled. "Are you sure? This is — "
"Lady Kassandra and I have not been warned, have we?" Asalena looked back and said, "As you said, we are extremely lucky to have found this place. We can't just leave without knowing anything. This tower is not out of control like Tarlonde's tower. The Voyager saved this planet 1.8 million years ago. The things they left behind should not harm us mortal races under normal circumstances. Think about it, the primitive elves ignored the warning and barged into the tower. But they were collectively erased, changed their form, and expelled from the tower. The security system here does not even have lethal weapons."
As she spoke, she looked up at the ring-shaped structure where the silver-white metal column connected to the roof. There was a hint of yearning in her eyes. "The Dragons have paid a great price to become the first race on this planet to pass the 'coming of age ceremony' on their own. That's how I can stand here, pass the Voyager's evaluation, and be qualified to take a step forward. I think … this is like an invitation."
"But these 'evaluation criteria' are basically your guess." Byron knew that Asalena had made up her mind, but he still cautioned her out of caution. "What's more, even if the situation is as you guessed, we don't know if the tower is still functioning properly after 1.8 million years. If it has a fatal malfunction, you will be in danger."
"The safest place is to lie in bed at home. The most stable way of life is to be a good girl and wait to inherit the family property. If I were such a timid and cautious person, you would not have had the chance to know me." Asalena could not help but laugh. She then waved her hand. "Don't worry, I am a Dragon. I am not as easy to get hurt as you think."
Byron frowned for a long time. In the end, he could only sigh with a trace of frustration and helplessness. "Well, I can't order you to stay here anyway."
"Then I will go with you!" Kassandra saw the situation and immediately wriggled two steps forward to Asalena's side. "Both of us can go up. We can take care of each other if we go together."
As she spoke, she turned back and waved the tip of her tail to the other two sirens. "You two stay here. I am not sure how high the tower is. If you can't contact the magic net terminal after you go up, you can use your psionic song to contact me."
The simple-minded siren was more straightforward than the dragon lady when it came to making decisions. Byron did not have a better plan, so he had no choice but to approve the bold exploration of the two ladies.
After Asalena and Kassandra brought the equipment and supplies they needed for the exploration, Byron led the marines to a farther place and watched the two explorers walk to the center of the hall.
They came to the silver-white metal column, but the identification system in the tower still did not give any warning. Asalena looked up at the metal wall in front of her, which looked like an integrated whole. She could not find anything like an operation panel. She looked at her temporary teammate beside her. "What's your plan?"
"I don't know what to do." Kassandra thought for a moment and raised the tip of her tail to probe the mysterious metal wall in front of her. "But according to experience, when you encounter something you don't understand, just poke it —"
Before her voice trailed off, the tip of her tail had already poked the metal wall.
Layers of light instantly spread out like ripples. Before Asalena had time to complain about Kassandra's "siren-like exploration experience," she heard a slight buzzing sound from inside the metal wall. The next second, a large number of hexagonal glimmering grids suddenly appeared on the surface of the metal wall. The seemingly seamless metal wall separated, shrank, and retreated in the blink of an eye, revealing an open cylindrical space inside.
A voice appeared in their minds. "The hatch is open. Visitors, you are allowed to come forward."
"See, I told you, just poke it." Kassandra turned her head and looked at Asalena proudly. "For a 'relic' left by an advanced civilization to a backward race, the simpler the better, unless they did not mean to let you use it."
Asalena was speechless. "…"
After carefully inspecting the interior of the large door that suddenly opened, the two explorers finally stepped inside after confirming that there was only a brightly lit cylindrical space. They then turned around and waved to Byron and the others who were standing not far away. Soon after, the deep humming sound echoed once again as the silvery-white metal wall closed up once more.
Asalena took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She knew that she was now "locked" in a facility left behind by a super-advanced civilization. So … what would happen next?
As if to respond to the thoughts in her mind, the synthetic voice sounded again in her mind.
"Inertial stabilizer normal, gravitational connection point normal, upper traffic station normal, confirmed Firmament feedback signal normal.
"The traffic path is clear. The two visitors have confirmed. Inertial stabilizer activated.
"Orbital module ascending. Heading to Firmament orbit space station."
Suddenly, there was a slight vibration under her feet as if something had been activated. Asalena subconsciously grabbed the circular handrail at the edge of the cylindrical space, but after the vibration, the ground under her feet returned to normal. The feeling of acceleration only lasted for a very short moment and seemed to be offset by some mysterious force. Asalena looked at Kassandra in astonishment, only to see that the siren lady was looking around excitedly. The tip of her tail was tapping on the floor at a very high frequency.
Her behavior was like a combination of a cat and a fish.
Asalena was still clutching the handrail tightly. There was no more shaking inside, and she could not even feel the acceleration. However, a low buzzing sound from the surroundings reminded her that this thing, which seemed to be an elevator, was in operation. She could not see outside, but she guessed that she was being transported to the upper level of the tower at a very fast speed.
Then, she began to hear the voice in her mind again.
"Passed the atmospheric checkpoint …"
"Passing the balance checkpoint …"
"Passed the optical mask layer and entered the hidden section. The viewing wall is open."
Asalena suddenly felt another vibration, and then she heard a very slight mechanical sound. The next second, she and Kassandra both widened their eyes in shock.
Countless hexagonal streams of light quickly appeared on the "walls" around the cylindrical space, and the metal-looking bulkhead suddenly became transparent!
Asalena noticed that the "elevator" was running at an amazing speed in a transparent tube.
Outside the tube, she saw a vast and boundless starry sky. It was more spectacular than all the stars she had ever seen in her life, and all of this filled the dark and deep space of the universe.
She looked at all this in astonishment, feeling that her breathing and heartbeat had stopped at the same time. She gripped the armrest in her hand tightly, as if she was afraid that she would accidentally fall into the boundless, dark, and deep sea of stars.
Inexplicably, she suddenly thought of a detail mentioned in the ancient legend:
The ancient tower stood in the middle of the 'Sea of Eternal Darkness'. This sea was shrouded in the eternal night, and the sea was filled with stars …
"So … this is what the Sea of Eternal Darkness refers to …"
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