The world had been destroyed before.
However, only a few people knew about this.
"To most of the commoners in this world, the 'world' is stable and eternal." Constance's voice was calm and indifferent as she spoke of the unbelievable truth in a completely flat tone. "The cycle of day and night, the cycle of the seasons, the growth of all things, the cycle of life and death. In most people's limited and short lives, these things will happen and repeat strictly according to the laws of nature. To them, 'the world was destroyed before' is not just unbelievable, it is more like a fantasy. They cannot and will not understand it, and if they were forced to understand it, the only result would be panic. So, unless it is between the heritors, no one will mention the truth. "
She did not care about the expression on Charlemagne and Awenna's face as she continued, "Our world has been destroyed before, and not just once. It is not the 'small matter' of a kingdom being destroyed in a world war, or even the extinction of a certain race. It is the true meaning of it, the complete collapse and disintegration of the entire world.
"From a very, very long time ago, so long that even the heritors could not tell what the beginning of the matter was, there was a powerful and terrifying force entrenched in this world. We do not know its origins, and we do not know why it wants to destroy everything. We only know that our first ancestors called it 'Annihilation', and it was' Annihilation 'that caused the first destruction of the world.
"Do you know? The world is actually very big, so big that you can't imagine it. It was originally not just a planet … Cramped. Before the Annihilation came, there were countless planets like L 'Haronne. They were all called planets, and there were stars much larger than planets, and celestial bodies much larger than stars floated in the world. The ancestors called it the universe.
"And the Annihilation led to the extinction of the first universe. It used a way that mortals could not understand, and tore the universe into pieces.
"That was the first era."
Constance was silent for a moment, and Awenna could not help but ask, "So, we are the survivors after that?"
Constance laughed, but there was a hint of coldness in her smile. "How could it be so beautiful? There were no survivors in the first era.
"The real apocalypse won't be so 'gentle'. It's not like the war between humans, where you can survive by digging a big enough crypt or building a castle. When the entire universe begins to collapse, even the stars will be extinguished instantly. There's no refuge in the world that can allow you to survive. In the First Era, the most ancient Ancestors were already very powerful. They could even travel across the universe in a single breath, create or extinguish stars of all sizes at will, and even add or delete dimensional structures at will to create private nations that floated at the edge of the real world. Even so, when the Annihilation came, the Ancestors could not save the apocalypse. The universe of the first era was torn to pieces, and even the once glorious civilization was destroyed. Nothing survived at all.
"But the real nightmare came after that."
Constance took a deep breath, as if even she could not help but shudder as she spoke of certain things.
Charlemagne was getting impatient. "What happened after that?"
"After the destruction of the first era, our world was reshaped," Constance said slowly, "A new era was born from the ruins of the collapse of the universe, and everything was reborn, along with Annihilation."
Charlemagne and Awenna looked at each other, and even Hao Ren could not help but look at Vivian. The situation seemed to be different from what they had expected.
Awenna's face was a little pale. "How many times did this happen?"
"I don't know." Constance shook her head. "Too many times, and even the eternal soul could not withstand such exhaustion. All we know is that the world has been destroyed more than once, and then rebuilt from the ruins and debris, and each time the process is more or less the same: after the reconstruction, the world will first run smoothly, and people will even suspect that true peace has arrived, but annihilation will inevitably follow, and push the world into the abyss of destruction.
"And every time the Annihilation came, there would be a war called the 'Turn of the Eras'. This war was unavoidable, because the one who started the war was not us, but the Annihilation. It would corrupt the world's strongest warriors, and release countless monsters from the Nightmare Realm. These minions feed on the world, and would definitely sweep everything away. To survive, and to leave a glimmer of hope after the Turn of the Eras, we would fight back.
"But no matter how strong the humans' resistance was, the Annihilation would eventually destroy everything. The war would only intensify, and the monsters would only increase, until the order of the world was broken, and everything was devoured. Only then would the dust settle.
"This is like a cycle, continuous destruction and rebirth. The apocalypse seemed to have come long ago, but it also felt like it never ended. We fought again and again, and every time we successfully completed the Turn of the Eras and survived into the next era, it was the most tenacious, fearless, and strongest of the humans. But in the next era, these champions would become the new carriers of the Annihilation. The saviors would eventually become the destroyers, and would be defeated by the new resistance. This is the Turn of the Eras.
"And another consequence of the Turn of the Eras is the constant 'depletion' of the world."
"We are, after all, 'defective goods' that were reshaped from the remains of the universe. Each such reshaping would lead to the continuous loss of something similar to Origins, and the concrete manifestation would be that the level of the world would fall again and again, just as the level of our civilization would fall again and again.
"Do you still remember the 'inheritor' and 'eternal soul' that I kept emphasizing just now? Those are the souls that could complete the Turn of the Eras, and survive after the world is rebuilt. Although the world would be destroyed, and the corporeal body would perish, some remnants of the soul would always survive, and carry their memories into the next era. And keeping this hope alive was the greatest motivation for the inheritors to keep fighting against the apocalypse. But all of this would be depleted, and it would be depleted along with the world.
"In the first Turn of the Eras, we fought on the endless battlefield of space and time, and after that, we fought against the Annihilation between the stars. A few more times, we could only fight in a galaxy, and after that, we could only hide in the shadows of the planets, relying on the battle satellites to fend off the monsters that came from the center of the stars. And after the Turn of the Eras, we finally retreated to the surface, and our weapons became swords and spears, and our battlefield could not even leave the atmosphere.
"One day, the Turn of the Eras will happen in a city, in a town, on a piece of rock, and the last of the humans and the last of the monsters will fight with their bare fists, using teeth and nails. And if they all fall, that will be the true release."
Constance's narration finally came to an end.
Hao Ren knew that what Constance said was not the whole truth, and it was not that the princess was hiding anything, but she did not know the whole truth.
Because the memories of the inheritors were disappearing, and the ancient civilization was withering along with the universe. The once vast sea of stars was now a chaotic Umbral Realm and the only planet, L 'Haronne. So what would be left of the inheritors who had survived the Turn of the Eras?
Perhaps even Constance herself did not understand what she was talking about. The inheritors like her had mostly forgotten what the stars were like, and did not remember their time roaming the sea of stars. They only remembered the battles, and some scattered words that even they did not understand.
As for Charlemagne and Awenna, they looked up after a long silence. Charlemagne pointed at the platinum scepter that was still floating in the air. "This scepter has always been the safekeeping of the Izzo royal family, so we are also …"
"Inheritors, but inheritors that have been lost." Constance nodded. "In fact, before today, I did not know that you were keeping this' inheritance ', and were planning to find your own way to find the scepter. Your father must have been awakened by the Turn of the Eras, and a memory surfaced from the depths of his soul, and that was why he sent you here. But you … obviously have no memory of the ancient times."
Charlemagne let out a self-deprecating laugh. "That is to say, we are not qualified to participate in the Turn of the Eras, nor are we qualified to live on in the next era. Is that right? That is, if what you are saying is not just a horror story."
"Everyone has the right to participate in the Turn of the Eras, because this is a challenge that all living beings must face." Constance looked at Charlemagne. "But you will not be able to live on … Your ancient memories have been erased, and your souls are no longer eternal. Even if you participate in the Turn of the Eras and emerge victorious with me, in the new era … you will not remember me."
Charlemagne opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Awenna spoke first. "It is a kind of luck."
"Yes, a great blessing." Constance looked at the princess of Izzo. "You do not have to face the truth. There is nothing better than ignorance."
After digesting the massive amount of information, Hao Ren let out a long sigh. "Sigh, so your history is … backwards."
He finally understood what the 'echoes' from different civilizations, different timelines, and different worlds were all about.
It was not many destroyed worlds stacked together, and it was not the wreckage of different civilizations intertwining. From the beginning to the end, there was only one universe that faced the apocalypse, but it was destroyed more than once.
"Backwards? Not a bad way to put it. "Constance raised an eyebrow as she looked at Hao Ren." But why did you say 'our history'? "
"No, it's nothing." Hao Ren changed the subject. "About the Turn of the Eras … I have a few questions."
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