Hao Ren could not imagine how it felt to be alone and forgotten in the depths of the Vault. However, he could see the traces left behind by the old man over the past nine hundred years in this small room, and he could tell a thing or two about the old man's life. He used his discipline and willpower to keep up with the plan because he was once the best talent in the ark. He also gave up on himself and squandered his time and supplies in this small room because he was just an ordinary human. He woke up from his false self-discipline and meaningless squandering and spent the last few decades of his life leaving behind all the history he knew here because he was the last 'parent' of this civilization.
"I only woke up in the latter half of my life, and I had to work even harder to make up for the wasted time," the old man mumbled in a low voice, his voice muffled. "The only fortunate thing was that I was really healthy. The medical experts were right, I could live a long and healthy life. My lifespan should have been used to rebuild, but I was trapped in this room — so I spent almost twenty years to leave behind these things. Our history, our culture, our traditions, where we came from, why we left our homeland … That was the longest period of clarity for me. I worked day and night, and every time I discovered that I had an extra strand of white hair on my head, I was terrified. I almost went crazy, but I didn't dare to go back to the hibernation chamber because I didn't know if I would be able to get up again … I was getting older and older. In the last few years, I had to spend half of my time by that window every day … "
The old man raised a trembling finger and pointed to the side of the door. There was a small window there, and during the days when he woke up intermittently, that window was the only way he could see the outside world.
"I looked outside, and sometimes I would hallucinate. I saw some hibernation pods suddenly open, and children jumped out, healthy and full of energy. But sometimes I saw terrible things … The hibernation pods fell on the bridge, and blood seeped out. I finished the last bit of work in this state, and it was time to rest. "The old man's murky eyes looked towards the corner of the room, where he had lain for hundreds of years." So I went back inside, and this time I did not set a time to wake up — my physical age was already 103 years old, and there was no need to wake up again. "
This was the life of the last "parent" of the ark.
When the ignorant children ran into the sanctuary in panic, their 'parents' were still asleep. When the children tried their best to survive in the empty city, their 'parents' could only look at the empty hibernation pods. The first settlement appeared in the sanctuary city, the first new generation, the first kingdom, the first division, the first malfunction, the first blackout, the first winter, the first artificial gravity shutdown … The last guardian of the civilization could only be trapped here, helpless, fearful, angry, and finally pulled himself together, carving the history of the entire race on the wall, from a youth to a middle-aged man, and from a middle-aged man to an old man …
Meanwhile, the children and their descendants in the sanctuary slowly forgot everything in the 800 years of difficult survival. In the end, they even forgot where they came from. The only thing that connected them to the guardian in the vault was the name of the reactor at World's End: The Furnace of the Ancestors.
"Why did you write these things on paper and carve them on the wall?" Lily asked curiously. "Didn't you prepare any other teaching materials?"
"Because it can be preserved longer." The old man's mouth twitched as he forced a smile. "The equipment outside has not been maintained for hundreds of years, and they will eventually break down. But the things written on paper can be preserved for a thousand years, and the things carved on the wall can be preserved for ten thousand years. As long as this place remains sealed, it can be preserved even longer … I have always believed that the children are still alive, but the mainframe to wake them up has malfunctioned. Once they wake up, I will be long dead, and they will still be able to find my manuscripts."
After saying that, the old man was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked at Hao Ren and broke the silence again. "I want to ask again, are they still alive?"
"Their descendants are still alive," Hao Ren answered cautiously.
"Oh, is that so … So many generations have passed …" The old man nodded slowly. He had a premonition in his heart, but he still asked, "Are our culture and traditions still being passed down?"
Everyone looked at each other until Vivian broke the awkward silence. "Many generations have passed … You know what will happen."
The old man was silent as he slowly walked towards the long table with the manuscripts. He rejected Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue's help. He quietly sorted out the manuscripts and piled them up in order. He then tried to lift them up — but he no longer had the strength to do so.
"Let me help you." Lily rushed forward and snatched the thick stack of manuscripts. "Where do you want to move them to?"
"Bring me to see … the children's descendants." The old man looked up at Hao Ren, his eyes calm and emotionless.
"You're going to be disappointed," Vivian said from the side.
The old man only had one answer. "I am dying."
Hao Ren nodded. He took out a life-support collar from his dimensional pocket and handed it over. "Put it on. We will pass by a place filled with radiation. This will keep you safe. "
For the first time in nine hundred years, the old man left his room. The moment he stepped out of the door, his body trembled violently, but he waved his hand to reject Nangong Wuyue's support. He muttered almost stubbornly, "I want to see them myself."
The crowd in front of the Furnace of the Ancestors was growing.
The Blood Wardens' warning alarmed everyone in King's City, and soon after, strange rumors such as the 'Witch of Fire and Ice' began to spread among the soldiers and civilians alike. All the nobles were alarmed, and scholars were running between the library and the ancient altar in search of answers. Crowds poured out of King's City and gathered in the open space in front of the Furnace of the Ancestors.
The traces of frost and plasma flames left behind on the ground had these superstitious and ignorant people in awe. The strange noises coming from the Furnace of the Ancestors made them even more suspicious.
When Hao Ren led the old man out from the exit of another control station, he saw a sea of people. The residents of the sanctuary were crowded on the 'plain' below. They were arguing, worshipping, and praying, as if they were believers waiting for a divine revelation.
The giant generator in the Furnace of the Ancestors had been repaired, and the autonomous bots were waiting for the next order. Hao Ren gave the signal to start the generator, and a low rumble came from deep within the Furnace of the Ancestors.
The rumble grew louder and louder, and then gradually calmed down. The residents of the sanctuary who were waiting on the empty space were shocked by the sudden commotion, and they began to clamor. Then, they saw the dim lights in all directions suddenly light up, and the entire enclosed space was lit up. The two giant wheels on the Royal City in the distance began to spin slowly, and they finally realized what had happened: the heart of the world had started beating again.
So, everyone knelt down, including the generals and ministers. Everyone knelt before the Furnace of the Ancestors, praising the arrival of light and warmth.
Beside Hao Ren, the old man looked on in shock. "What … are they doing?"
"Praising the heart of the world that has started beating again, praising the grace of the gods." Hao Ren sighed softly. "Vivian said that you would be greatly disappointed — these people do not know anything about the ark. Their entire world is this hundred-kilometer sphere. These people have lived here for generations, and now they have returned to the wild. They have split into four kingdoms, and they fight each other endlessly. They think that their world was created by the gods, and that outside the ark is the sea. They even think that their world is a giant tortoise … "
"Tortoise … Back then, we used this to comfort the children. We said that the ark was like a tortoise's shell, and that it would protect everyone from harm." The old man's voice was low. "At least they still remember this."
Hao Ren was silent for a few seconds. He had to give the final verdict as an inspector. "It's a pity, but your civilization has been broken."
The old man did not reply. He only watched the situation below quietly, and listened to the voices of the residents in tattered clothes and primitive behavior. Suddenly, he smiled like a happy child. "They're still speaking the language of their ancestors, aren't they?"
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