Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 784 Handover
The roar that echoed in the depths of consciousness gradually dissipated, and the scene in front of him stabilized again, as if the vague sound across the curtain became clear again. Ge Mona's soft voice was like a breeze blowing across the water: "... Fire Usurper, what does the world look like in your eyes?"

"The world in my eyes..." Duncan repeated these words softly, thinking and reminiscing subconsciously. His gaze passed over the phantom-like girl standing quietly in front of him, over the huge remains of Queen Leviathan, and over the pool of water - in a trance, a fish jumped out of the water, jumped into his mind, and lingered in his consciousness.

He blinked and refocused his gaze on the "Quiet Sea Girl". After a moment of silence, he said, "The world in my eyes... is often different from that of ordinary people in this world. Some things change in my cognition, and then they also change in the eyes of others. Navigator No. 1 believes that this is the power of the observer, but I can vaguely feel that... the situation is not that simple."

"So, Navigator No. 2's judgment is correct," the girl's illusion seemed to smile, "You, or the civilization behind you... they have come into contact with the 'answer'."

"…So, if we start from the most basic level of 'information', we have a chance to preserve everything in the shelter while 'completing' the end of the world?"

"If 'information' is really the essence of everything, and we have mastered the method of reshaping the world from this level, then theoretically we can do everything," Gemona said softly, "Really 'everything', all possibilities, all impossibilities, those that have been born, those that have not been born, those that have been annihilated, and those that have survived annihilation... As long as 'information' can express them, they can be realized in any way... Even if we want everything to be 'born' after 'destruction'..."

The girl's illusion suddenly stopped, and she seemed to be lost in thought. After a long while, she gently shook her head and said, "That is already a realm that I cannot understand."

"...Frankly speaking, that seems to be the part I can't understand," Duncan thought for a moment and said frankly, "At least it's the part I can't understand right now."

Gemona seemed to frown. Her face was blurry in the illusion, but her emotions were as rich as those of a human. "I remember you said that you have a 'complete order'. What exactly is it?"

The temple was silent for a while. Duncan was thinking seriously. He sorted out his words and the information he knew so far, sorting out his current understanding of himself and his current "state". After a long while, he broke the silence: "That was a 0.002 second slice of the universe - a civilization that reached the pinnacle of order, and when it realized that the Great annihilation was inevitable, it 'cut' its own world, intercepted a 'sample' from the entire timeline that was not affected by the Great annihilation, and sealed this sample up...

"This specimen is me—my 'essence' within this current body.

"According to my understanding, this 0.002 second slice of the universe should be the necessary condition for creating a new world... It's like a seed, a 'starting parameter', a copy..."

He was a little stuck when he said this, but Ge Mona's voice immediately rang out: "A 'blueprint' that has never been contaminated, and is 'self-consistent' and 'complete'!"

Duncan's eyes lit up slightly: "Yes, that's what I mean."

"Yes, it's this... That's it!" Gemona's illusion suddenly trembled, as if she was unstable due to excitement. From just now to now, this was the first time that excitement appeared in her tone. "This is what Navigator 2 has been looking for... A pure and complete blueprint! Neither we nor the civilization behind us have been able to reach this step, so we cannot construct a complete 'model' of the entire world, so we can only build an endless ocean with a limited lifespan, but if we have a complete blueprint..."

The sand in the hourglass suddenly began to flow quickly. The slight rustling sound calmed Ge Mona down instantly. She immediately controlled herself and restrained her overly active emotions to save her precious "vitality".

"If we have a complete blueprint, we may have a chance to reshape a real world," she said calmly. "We have failed several times in 'creation'. The fundamental reason is that we don't know what the complete order of the universe should be like. If 'information' is regarded as the cornerstone of everything, then the order in the universe is the 'formula' that allows all information to operate in a self-consistent manner. It is beyond our ability to summarize this formula, but you have this formula in your hands..."

"But I only have the formula," Duncan had to interrupt him. "Remember what I said before? I need raw materials, lots of raw materials. A seed alone can't grow into a towering tree, and a blueprint alone can't build a house. I also need soil and bricks."

"Yes." Ge Mona's voice came directly into his mind, calm and firm.

Duncan's expression changed slightly, and for a moment, he seemed to have thought of something.

"...Is it enough to detonate us?" Ge Mona's tone suddenly became less firm. She asked cautiously, with a hint of hope and a little uneasiness in her voice - as if she was afraid that it would not be enough.

"...Are you serious?" Duncan's expression changed and his tone became a little complicated.

"...As the 'inertia' of the world, we carry a large amount of 'intelligence' from the old world. Navigator No. 2 said that 'intelligence' is 'information' - although it has not yet completed the research of its creators, it has more or less touched that threshold," Ge Mona said in a serious tone, "According to its judgment, the 'information' we carry should actually be far beyond our understanding and control - the total amount is many times more than the entire Infinite Ocean, but we lack the ability to control information, so this huge amount of 'basic information' can only be wasted. A small part of it becomes the raw material for building shelters, and most of it slowly rots with us...

"But you are different, Fire Usurper. Your civilization has reached this level, and you have the ability - I think you can properly and efficiently detonate us. Even if we are just the remnants of the old world, if all the 'remnants' of the entire 'outer barrier' are melted together, perhaps it will be enough to complete it once..."

She stopped because the sand in the hourglass was flowing faster again.

After two or three seconds of silence, she continued softly: "What Salmir failed to do at that time..."

Sarmir, that was the name of the King of the Pale Giants - he once tried to reshape the stars, but the stars collapsed in the long night and became part of the warp.

Duncan didn't say anything, but from his expression, he was obviously not willing to accept Queen Leviathan's "plan".

Emotionally, he instinctively resisted this suggestion, and rationally, he also felt that this plan was inappropriate - would the information explosion obtained by "detonating" the "remains" of the four gods and all the other ancient gods really be enough to fill a "blueprint of creation"?

Although it may sound a bit sharp, he instinctively felt that these "gods", including Gemona... the amount of information they carried was really not enough compared to a complete universe...

They are just tiny "gods" - the mainframe of a spaceship, the historian of a planet, a queen of sea beasts who can only protect an ocean, or primitive gods in charge of death and sacrifice. The knowledge and memories of the old world they carry are not enough to depict the stars.

But he couldn't say it. Queen Leviathan was looking at him expectantly by the pool. This "little god"... really thought that by detonating himself, he could add a few stars to the new world.

So after a long silence, he just nodded slightly.

"I'm not sure now. This doesn't seem like a very reliable plan. Perhaps we should think of other ways. At least... there should be some time."

"...We don't have much time," Gemona thought for a moment and said, "It would be great if there was a better way, but if it's too late...we're always here waiting for your answer."

The sand in the hourglass has flowed away a little more, and now there is not much left.

"It seems like it's almost time to say goodbye." Behind the girl's illusion, the pale giant beast's limb slowly sank to the edge of the pool. "Bartok said that the vitality in the hourglass is enough for me and you to complete the necessary conversation - it seems that we should talk about it here."

Duncan looked down at the little remaining sand in the hourglass. He knew that he should retain some "life" - when the final moment came, he would come back here to tell Gemona the final "answer".

"Is there anything else you want to tell me before we leave?" Duncan asked.

Gemona did not speak, and the woman who had been standing beside him, wearing a white clergy-style robe, came forward and handed him something.

Duncan's eyes suddenly fixed - it was a brass key.

The brass key used to wind up the puppet!
"What is this?" He couldn't help but ask in astonishment.

"The route is the 'route' leading to the nodes of the entire outer barrier," Gemona said gently. "Pilot No. 2 said that it can only be handed over to you when you come here. It will show you its proper appearance before your eyes - and then, you will naturally know how to use it."

It will show the proper attitude...

Duncan repeated this sentence in his mind, and then took the brass key with some incredible emotion.

It feels cool and heavy to the touch, and its handle is different from the "infinity" symbol of the other key - its handle structure is a ring with complex patterns, and there is an arrow running through the entire ring.

"I hope it comes in handy." Gemona said with a smile.

Duncan let out a long sigh and put the key close to him: "...Of course, this is very useful."

The illusion of Gemona nodded slightly: "Well, that's all."

(End of this chapter)