What attracted the Voyager to this planet from the depths of the universe was the so-called 'chaotic background pulse'. It was probably a technical term that only the Voyager himself understood, but Gwen quickly figured out its origin.
It was the large-scale descent of the gods and war that happened on this planet.
"When they came to this planet, the entire world was almost hopeless. The bloodthirsty gods and the fanatical Holy See turned the entire planet into a huge sacrificial ground, and ordinary people were like livestock waiting to be slaughtered in the sacrificial ground. Tarlonde appeared to be the only 'pure land', but it could only protect itself by sealing off its borders and solidifying the gods.
"In the face of such a situation, the Voyager chose the most violent method of intervention … to 'dismantle' the out-of-control divine structure on this planet."
At this point, the Dragon God shook his head slightly.
"Actually, even I know very little about the Voyagers, so I don't know what they do when they face different situations on other planets. I don't know if they have other ways to lead a civilization to break away from the 'shackles of the gods'. I only know that they used the most effective method on this planet … and that is to attack directly.
"Back then, due to the frequent interference of the gods in this world, the divine power repeatedly penetrated the barrier between this world and the divine kingdom, causing the boundary between the world of the gods and the world of mortals to become blurred. The skies above the planet were filled with 'deep space holes' and rifts that could not be completely closed, and the Voyager launched a fierce attack on all divine kingdoms through these passages.
"To this day, many scenes of that time remain in my memory … It was a terrible battle, and the Voyager left me with the impression that they were not only powerful, but also decisive and cold. As if they were carrying out a noble mission, they quickly destroyed all the beings who called themselves' gods' on this planet, and left a lot of surveillance and protection facilities on this planet — they hid those facilities or set them up in places far away from the civilization. At first, we thought that they were preparing to completely occupy this planet, but they did not … After doing all that, they left without any reluctance.
"Along with them were the surviving races on this planet, whose population had plummeted — except for Tarlonde's dragons."
The Dragon God paused for a moment, and Gwen immediately asked, "They did not attack the Dragons' gods … because you mentioned before that the Dragons and their gods were already 'tied together', so they could not intervene?"
"… Actually, this is just our own guess." After two seconds of silence, the Dragon God spoke softly. "The Voyager did not leave behind an explanation. They may have taken into account the stable connection between the Dragons and the gods into consideration, or they may have determined that the Dragons were not qualified to join their 'fleet' for some reason, or … they would only destroy those gods who had fallen into madness or developed bloodthirsty tendencies, and Tarlonde's Dragons were targets that they did not need to intervene.
"But whatever the reason, the result was the same …
"The Voyager left without taking the Giant Dragon, and the Tarlonde civilization was left on this devastated planet, and the Dragons became the only 'rulers' of the planet at that time, like a king chained to a throne, watching the wasteland alone and sadly. One million eight hundred and seventy thousand years have passed, and what the Dragons have gained and what they have lost … no one can say for sure. "
This ancient history slowly unfolded its mysterious veil to Gawain in the narration of the Dragon God. However, the exceedingly long period of time had already left countless traces of erosion in history, and the truth of that time had thus become blurred. Therefore, even after hearing so much, Gawain still had doubts in his heart. About the Voyagers, about the gods of the dragon race, about that long-lost ancient era …
He believed that there must be more details in that lost history, more details that could explain the Voyager and the Dragons' current situation, but the Dragon God did not tell him. Perhaps he deliberately hid it for some reason, or perhaps even this ancient god did not know all the details.
After all, he was not exactly the 'gods' of the Dragons, but just a … sutured successor born after the great change of the gods.
After a long time, Gwen once again broke the silence. "Then the battlefield in the Eternal Storm …"
"That was later, many years after the Voyager left," the Dragon God said calmly. "After the Voyager left, Tarlonde experienced a brief period of chaos and shock, but the Dragons still had to survive, even if the whole world was devastated … They stepped out of the closed door and began to explore the abandoned planet like scavengers. They found a lot of ruins and a few small shelters that seemed to be built by the survivors who did not want to leave the planet. But in the harsh environment at that time, none of those shelters survived …
"After many years, the world was still barren, and the Giant Dragons temporarily gave up looking for vitality in other parts of the world and began to devote all their energy to the development of Tarlonde. The Voyager's appearance seemed to have opened a window for the Dragons, a window to … the outside world, and it stimulated many Giant Dragons' spirit of exploration and knowledge, so … "
Gwen heard the whistling and roaring outside the temple suddenly become violent again, even more violent than before. He could not help but leave his seat slightly, wanting to see the situation outside the temple, but the Dragon God's voice interrupted him. "Don't mind it, it's just … the wind."
Gwen looked at the dragon and saw eyes as deep as the abyss. He then sat down again, exhaled, and spoke on behalf of the Dragon God. "The Giant Dragons developed rapidly under the drive of exploration and curiosity, but they encountered the repulsion of the divine shackles. As they could not summarize the pattern of the shackles in time and find a way to break free, it finally led to the war in the depths of the Eternal Storm."
The Dragon God nodded gently.
The whistling and roaring outside the temple calmed down a little.
"You just mentioned that the Voyager took away most of the survivors on this planet, except for the Dragons?" Gwen listened to the commotion outside the temple, and his eyes fell on Enya. "Why did they do that?"
"To be honest, the Dragons had spent many years guessing the Voyager's motives, from noble purposes to sinister schemes, but no reliable logic could explain the Voyager's motives … In the few limited encounters between the Dragons and the Voyager, they did not describe their homeworld and traditions, nor did they explain in detail the purpose of their long voyage — also known as the Voyager Expedition. They seemed to have been sailing in the universe for hundreds of thousands of years, or even longer, and there was more than one fleet roaming among the stars. They had left footprints on many planets, but after leaving a planet, they almost never returned …
"As for taking away survivors from the planet … it seemed that they had done this more than once. They had a huge fleet, and in the depths of the fleet, which was heavily protected by the Voyager's battleships, there were many races who boarded the fleet during the Voyager Expedition. Some of them were refugees from other planets, some were civilizations who joined the fleet voluntarily, and some were just traveling with the wind … It was said that the oldest members of the fleet had sailed with the Voyager for tens of thousands of years, but unfortunately, the Dragons did not have the chance to see those 'passengers' from other worlds. They were stranded in space, responsible for building the unfinished 'Firmament', and did not land on this planet. "
The Dragon God's soft and slow voice slowly narrated. Her gaze seemed to drift away, and her eyes became empty. Perhaps she was sinking into the ancient memory, or perhaps she was feeling sad about what the Dragons had missed, or perhaps she was just thinking about the future of her race and civilization as a 'god'. Regardless of the reason, Gwen did not interrupt her.
Because Gwen himself was already immersed in a wonderful thought, a throbbing sensation about the mysteries of the universe and the world that he had never thought of before.
This world … no, this universe was not silent. Even with the periodic threat of the Great Mana Tide, even with the shackles of the laws of the gods, there were still flames of civilization drifting among the twinkling stars.
The huge fleet of the Voyager, the civilizations of other planets, the Voyager Expedition … When he woke up in an ancient tomb and faced a fallen magical 'middle age', he could never have imagined that he could hear these concepts in this world. But today, these things were spread out before his eyes in the form of history.
The most incredible thing was that the 'person' who was narrating all these … was actually a 'god'.
Tarlonde's journey had not been in vain.
In this vague excitement, Gwen finally could not help but break the silence. "Is the Voyager really not coming back?"
"The dragons have been waiting for more than a million years," Enya said calmly. "The Voyager never came back. The things they left behind in the stars are running on their own and gradually decaying in the process. This may have happened more than once on other planets. I think the Voyager did not leave those things behind so that they could one day come back to take over this inconspicuous rock ball. Although I don't know why they left those things behind, they probably won't come back again."
Gwen suddenly felt a sense of loss.
He seemed to understand why the Dragons carried out the plan to cultivate the 'Reverse Tide' and why they wanted to use the Voyager's legacy to create another powerful mortal civilization.
However, there were some things that were truly missed. Blind and ineffective "remedial" measures were ultimately futile.
The Dragon God looked at him. After a while, she smiled. "Are you yearning for the stars, extraterrestrial wanderer?"
"For the past many years, I have been among the stars," Gwen said with a sigh. "For me, this planet … is really not spacious enough."
"Is that so …" The Dragon God said noncommittally. Then she suddenly let out a long sigh and slowly got to her feet. "What a pleasant conversation … Let's stop here, extraterrestrial wanderer. It's getting late."
"Indeed, we seem to have talked for a long time." Gwen also got to his feet. He took out the mechanical watch and glanced at it. Then he looked at the door of the temple hall. But before he stepped out, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the Dragon God. "By the way, if you don't mind, I have another question."
"Please go ahead."
"The Black Trap … the Black Trap that caused many civilizations to suddenly go extinct after they had developed to their peak. What is it?"
The Dragon God was silent for a few seconds before she slowly said, "Do you still remember the battlefield in the depths of the Eternal Storm?"
Gwen nodded. "Of course, I remember."
After a short silence, the Dragon God's gentle but solemn voice entered Gwen's ears. "At the last moment when the gods merged into one and the shackles were completely solidified, the Dragons chose to give up their freedom. They bowed their heads and became my nourishment and slaves. So they stopped at the edge of the Black Trap, but one of their feet was already trapped in the Black Trap.
"And those who were unwilling to bow their heads would face the end of the road.
"Facing the invincible 'God of the Gods', they would be annihilated by the power of faith accumulated by their civilization over thousands of years. They would perish together with all the culture, legends, myths, and reverence that their civilization had created. The stronger the civilization, the stronger the gods, and the collision of the two produced a 'civilization explosion' … that is the Black Trap. "
Gawain's eyes widened. When the answer that he had been pondering for a long time finally hit him, he almost held his breath. It was only when his heart began to pound that he could not help but say in a hurried tone, "Wait a minute. You didn't say the 'third story' before. Does that mean there's still one more …"
"You just said that you have 'one' question," the Dragon God interrupted Gwen. Her tone was still gentle, and her expression was half-smiling. "This is the second one."
Gawain choked. He wanted to speak again, but the god in front of him shook his head silently at him.
After a moment, Gwen exhaled. "Okay, I get it."
He then took a step back. "Thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for your patient answers. This is indeed a pleasant conversation. I think it's time for me to leave. My friends are still waiting. "
"Go ahead." The Dragon God nodded elegantly. "Helagol is at the door. He will send you back."
Gwen nodded slightly to show his gratitude. He then turned around and strode toward the exit of the temple hall.
He could feel a gaze on his back. It had been there for a long time.
At the entrance of the temple hall, the high-ranking dragon priest with pale blonde hair and a serious face was still waiting in the corridor as if he had not left.
He was once a leader of the Dragons.
He was once a warrior who rose up against the gods.
He once held the legacy of the Voyager. Perhaps … he also yearned for the stars.
"Hello, High Priest."
"Guest, do you need me to send you back?"
"Thank you. You have worked hard."
"You are welcome."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
