Shadow of the Beautiful World

In the storage space of the cosmic furnace, Merlin was talking to this oversized melting furnace star.

At this time, there are still a few days before the ignition time he planned. He just came to check the situation first. It is not so easy to reshape the foundation of reality within the range of stars.

Just igniting the furnace involuntarily, the energy gushing out of it will only be like the tide hitting the beach, smoothing out everything that exists.

That was not the ending Merlin wanted to see.

He had to wait until the countless beacons lined up among the stars were in place, filling the stars with the burning cosmic force in a gentler way.

In this way, the transformation from illusion to reality can be realized without destroying the existing order of the universe.

This is an extremely huge project. On the earth, countless colleagues are working hard for the realization of this system.

Of course, Merlin came to the space of the cosmic melting pot not just to see how powerful this device that can restart the universe is, he came with another purpose.

Oh? We don't know each other very well, do we?

The consciousness of the melting pot, that is to say, shaped the Yuanshi Tianzun and the emperor of the universe a long time ago, and indirectly derived the mysterious existence TheOne of the Cybertron world and mechanical civilization.

It said to Merlin in a gentle tone:

We should just meet for the first time, and you ask me to do you a favor, are you people on Earth so familiar?

Not really.

Merlin sat cross-legged on a rock on the surface of the cosmic melting furnace, and he replied calmly:

Just a request that benefits both of us.

favorable?

TheOne snorted, and it replied calmly:

I don't see any advantage. You see, I'm just a melting pot to support the universe and restart the stars. Anyone who has the ability can ignite me.

As for me and my duty and mission, being ignited by you or being ignited by the Outer God makes no difference to me.

I was born to burn, and as long as there is a flame, I will live forever.

it says:

I paid attention to the little girl Icarus just because she inherited the will of my creation. In terms of your human ethics system, she is equivalent to my little granddaughter.

But this kind of kindness is only for her. It doesn't mean that I have any good feelings for your civilization and the current stars.

There was a loud sound of metal peeling off inside the melting furnace star, as if humans were breathing.

TheOne stopped, and said in a low tone:

You live in a false world, it does not exist, and I symbolize the reality of the universe, I and you are the opposite!

I uphold the neutrality of both parties, and I should have done so, if you want me to help you with this favor

Then convince me.

The cosmic melting furnace emitted vibrations and hums similar to laughter, and its consciousness became active again, allowing this old, traces of the appearance of the furnace dismantled from other universes to be continuously peeled off.

It's like an old, oily and dusty instrument vibrating to clean itself.

The heavy impurities on the shell were shattered and scattered into this dark space, revealing the real body of the cosmic furnace, which was metal, some metal like gold leaf.

This huge melting furnace is made of metal, and the crust on the outer shell is probably just a camouflage.

First of all, I am not asking you to destroy neutrality.

Merlin was not in a hurry.

He doesn't care about the indifference of the melting pot consciousness, nor does he care about its questioning, he has his own set of arguments.

He told TheOne:

As you said, the purpose of your existence is to be ignited. It doesn't matter who is ignited. I will not stop the ignition, nor will it delay it. Someone set you on fire.

I mean, someone from the illusory world will light the fire, but without your permission, they cannot enter this space. After all, this is the only place in this illusory group of stars that borders on reality.

Merlin's words silenced the cosmic furnace for a moment.

It made a rumbling sound, like a thunderclap, and it said:

Why?

There was a doubt in TheOne's voice, it asked:

Why this odd request?

I have been watching your world, including your previous game with the elders of the universe. You have done so many things for your world and the stars. Isn't it right for you to light the fire yourself?

It's not just an honor. Merlin Riley, the one who ignited the melting pot of the universe, will have control over this group of stars on a symbolic level. You should be very clear about this, don't you want it?

You have done so much for it, is it just to make wedding dresses for others?

The question was direct and candid, down to the topic.

Merlin shrugged, and he said to the shape furnace:

It's just a symbol, and a symbol without strength is meaningless.

For me, it doesn't matter who ignites the fire. As long as the stars can become real, as long as the destruction of the Outer Gods can be stopped, I don't care who the ultimate beneficiary is.

How? This request does not violate your principle of neutrality, does it?

Merlin says:

The battle is still to be fought. The future of this group of stars still depends on the result of our direct confrontation with the Outer Gods. All the decisive factors have not changed, but the executor has changed.

Well, that's true.

TheOne replied in a low voice:

If your request is just like this, then I can allow you to dump the firewood now!

It seemed impatient and excited, like someone looking forward to the future. It said:

I haven't burned for a long time, I haven't carried those pure firewood for a long time, I haven't glowed and glowed for a long time, come on, pour the firewood into my body.

It urged:

Give me back the passion and fire of the past, and I shall be born again.

Hold on.

Merlin stood up straight. He took the Raven Book from his waist. His body soared into the air as if unaffected by gravity, quickly circled the star melting furnace, and then followed the large hole in the center of the star and fell into it. deep in the furnace.

This place is like a cold mechanical city.

There are huge, strangely shaped metal equipment everywhere, they are like the creations of giants, they are cold and stagnant in place, quite a shocking feeling.

Merlin landed on the black and gray steel floor. He raised his head and saw a blower-like thing directly above his eyes.

It is as big as a city, and there are precise blades inside, and on those blades, there are still dust contaminated after long-term burning.

It looked like a computer main case fan that hadn't been cleaned for more than ten years. The huge amount of dust was all over the metal blades, and even formed a shape similar to burrs.

It has an old and grungy feel to it.

Looking around, the surrounding metal equipment is like this, as if the old equipment was directly taken out of an old factory, and then thrown into this universe casually.

Those creators who created the world didn't even dust and re-polish it once.

This made Merlin feel uncomfortable all over.

He felt as if he had entered a garbage dump that had been discarded for tens of thousands of years.

Do you want to clean up first?

Merlin shouted in the core of the world melting pot:

You are really dirty! Any machine that has been shut down for a long time must be cleaned before restarting, right?

up to you.

TheOne was a little unhappy.

This is natural, no one likes to be called dirty.

Its voice echoed inside the astral machine, and it said angrily:

But don't laugh at me, if you experience a cosmic collapse, you won't be clean.

Yeah?

Merlin waved his hand, and while the halos of the pupils of his eyes danced, a super-advanced cleaning spell in the range of stars was thrown into the cosmic furnace.

Just like a gust of wind sweeping across the world, it roared and hit every piece of machinery in the core of the furnace, and the dust all over the mechanical structure was blown off, rolled up, and blown further away by the wind.

It's like a big cleaning, making the whole interior of the furnace dusty.

I heard that you were picked up by Gao Tianzun, are you interested in talking about your previous universe?

Merlin looked at the core of the furnace that was being cleaned. He was holding the Raven Book, and a faint blue light surged on the magic book.

With just one thought, enough of the collected cosmic force can be injected into the core of the furnace.

Facing Merlin's question, TheOne was silent for a long time.

It finally opened its mouth and said:

There's nothing to say, that's what often happens in multiverse systems.

That universe is too old, and its internal rules have become chaotic after dozens of epochs. It's like a dying human being, and there are always various diseases coming to the door.

It was the end of the stars, and there were disasters of one kind or another on every planet. The fire of life was dying, like a lush jungle turning into a desert.

The cosmological constant is in disarray, the rules of magic are gone, and when the bucket starts to leak, it's only a matter of time before it completely collapses.

I tried my best to control the combustion and prevent more heat from destroying it, but it has been fragmented, and the all-round collapse is beyond my control.

TheOne's voice became low and vicissitudes, it said:

Eventually, it died.

Like a punctured balloon, the matter and energy in the universe are thrown into the void, and the body of the universe becomes dry.

Without the spark of life igniting, the corpse of the universe has become icy cold.

I should have died with my universe at that time, Gao Tianzun brought me out of that collapsed universe, and he also brought out a lot of useful materials

Your stars are rebuilt on the corpse of a dead universe. This kind of thing is very common in the multiverse.

As far as I know, Cyber ​​Hawk also saved a strange twin universe in the same way.

The violent wind subsided slightly, and those winds carrying hundreds of millions of tons of dust were sent out of the furnace, and the dust was scattered outside the furnace of the universe, and was pulled by the gravity of this giant star.

They formed a gray-white star ring outside the furnace, as if they had put a beautiful crown on the furnace star.

Merlin listened to TheOne's description, and he looked around. The stains on the ancient instruments were all cleaned up, and they showed their original posture, just like the metal cast by brass, reflecting ancient and gentle light.

Like a coin that has been wiped clean.

They built the Stars, Merlin.

The One's voice was still echoing, this time with more emotion, it said to Merlin:

No matter how much you hate them, no matter how much you hate them, no matter how much you despise them, remember this.

Without them, you wouldn't be where you are now.

Not to mention the existence of this illusory world that allows you to harvest countless emotions and emotions.

yes.

Merlin nodded, he pushed the Raven Book forward, and the faint blue cosmic force of the Q bomb like a slime was sent into the core of the furnace.

It was a super-large egg-shaped combustion chamber, as huge as the earth's mantle layer, and the force sent into it seemed insignificant, but when it fell into the combustion chamber, the compressed force expanded rapidly.

These fuels are only used for initial ignition.

Once the furnace restarts and the stars change, a symbiotic system will be established. With the expansion of the universe, a steady stream of fuel will be sent into the furnace to support its long-term burning.

Every time the furnace does not get enough fuel, it will go out again, which means the end of a cosmic epoch, and then the restart of the next cosmic epoch.

This is the change of the era, just like the seasons flow, and the dead tree is in spring.

While dumping firewood, Merlin said to TheOne:

I have never selectively forgotten the actions of those outer gods to shape the world. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for creating this group of stars. I am grateful to them for sending me here and letting me experience all this.

But that doesn't stop me from taking up arms against them at the last moment

It's not because I don't know how to be grateful, it's just that ants are still alive, and we have the right to resist the unreasonable destruction of the cruel Creator.

The Creator created everything, and I broke the chains to set everything free. There is no conflict, right?

You're always right.

TheOne replied with a chuckle, it felt the fullness of the firewood, and the heavy weight made it let out a scream of joy.

Okay, okay, save some, don't pour any more!

It prevented Merlin from pouring all the force of the universe into the core of the furnace. It said:

I haven't burned for a long time. I need to adjust the frequency of my resonance with this group of stars. These original forces are enough for testing. For the rest, wait until the day of ignition.

Ah, after long ages, I shall burn again, biting the darkness and swallowing the light.

Praise be to you, flame of creation

Huh? Why don't you go? Do you want to stay here and chat with me?

The Furnace looked at Merlin who stayed where he was, and said:

You seem to have something to say?

yes.

Merlin stroked the Raven Book on his waist, and he asked softly:

I do have one more question or a trade would be more appropriate, would you like to hear about it?