Chapter 1 The Sound

Ding... ding ding...

It was the sound of the god carrying history, carving sand with a stone chisel in the history that had been burned away.

The giant sat on the ground, seemingly unresponsive to the approach of uninvited guests. He was still as Vanna remembered him—old, tall, with the vicissitudes of history deeply etched on his face like the marks of an axe, messy hair and beard, and a pair of sunken eyes.

But compared to Vanna's memory, he seemed even older and more hunched. On his tattered robe, faint red glows still flickered, as if embers were still burning on him. Occasionally, tiny sparks flew from the corners of his clothes with his movements, and the firelight fell on the desert, creating brief and blurred phantoms.

The giant raised his arm again, the stone striking the chisel. The chisel fell into the loose yellow sand, yet it sparked like metal clashing, producing a crisp sound. However, the yellow sand was ultimately something that could not be carved—no traces would remain in the sand. Only the clear, hollow sound of the chisel echoed in this boundless sea of sand.

Vanna stood upright next to a dune, watching the familiar figure not far away. After a brief hesitation, she finally followed behind the captain, tentatively taking a step forward.

Then, the giant's deep, hoarse voice finally broke the silence and entered her ears: "Time... is an illusion imposed by the observer on the changes of things. History, then, is the shadow cast by intelligent races in this illusion of time. To the intellectual observer, all meaning is built on the foundation of 'people'... No people, no meaning."

Vanna stopped a few meters away from the giant.

"Long ago, there were still stones here, and history could be carved on them. But now there is only sand left, and even the flames have been reduced to this small bonfire," the giant said to himself, gazing at the bonfire flickering in the cold wind, "It's almost over."

"Civilization begins with fire and stone, and it will end with them," Vanna couldn't help but say—this was what Tariykin had told her personally in that long dream in Lightwind Port.

The giant finally raised his head, his gaze falling on Vanna.

"Recently, I had a very short dream, passed down from a time long, long ago, leaving only blurry shadows... but I saw you in those shadows," he looked into Vanna's eyes, the wrinkles on his face forming a smile, "Thank you for accompanying me on that journey, even though I can't remember it anymore... but I still remember, that journey was originally very lonely."

Vanna's eyes widened slightly, "That happened in a dream in Xilandis. You... can also know?"

"When time is about to close the loop, all events that have occurred in the flow of time are interconnected," Tariykin nodded gently, "When this sanctuary was first established, I was deeply bound to its flow of time... Now, I know many things."

Then he turned his head and looked at Duncan, who was standing beside Vanna.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Fire Usurper," the giant smiled faintly, "But that's good too. This is the only thing that still has meaning in this desolate place."

"Frankly, I didn't expect this place to be like this," Duncan breathed out, frankly expressing his thoughts, "I thought... as a recorder of civilization, you would be in a better situation than other 'gods.' After all, 'memory' is one of your authorities; you should be more resistant to 'corruption.'"

"A counterintuitive fact is that when the process of disaster is prolonged to a certain extent, the demise of 'history' often precedes the race itself," Tariykin shook his head, "It's not always 'a race dies out and their history dies with them.' In many cases, a race's history ends while they are still alive... Forgetting is a terrible thing."

The giant paused slightly at this point, sighing softly, "...Forgetting is terrible, especially when many things in this world suddenly disappear. The 'corrections' within the sanctuary cannot completely heal the voids caused by the 'blasphemous prototypes,' so countless lesions and tears are left in history. I do my best to cover up those historical distortion points that could lead to the spread of pollution, re-engraving the memories of the world, again and again, again and again... The stones finally became sand, and the sand turned into ashes. Now it's almost beyond repair."

Tariykin shook his head and casually threw down the stone and chisel in his hand—the moment they fell into the yellow sand, they shattered and became sand indistinguishable from the surroundings.

Duncan took a step forward, coming to the giant who, even sitting down, was taller than the tallest human: "You should know why I'm here."

"I know, Pathfinder II has already contacted me," Tariykin was very calm, "You are here to end this world, just as I saw that scene a long, long time ago... You will burn everything to ashes, and all things will eventually be destroyed in your hands—this is your first step in saving them."

Duncan met the giant's gaze calmly, asking curiously, "Are you referring to when you and the other ancient kings first discovered 'me' before the sanctuary was built? From then on, you called me 'Fire Usurper'... Is it also because you foresaw the future?"

"I don't have the ability to calculate the entire world like Pathfinder II, but I have eyes that can look into the distance on the timeline—although they are not always so useful," Tariykin laughed, his tone filled with nostalgia, "In the old world, those who believed in me firmly believed that I could do this, so I could do it."

"I've always been worried that 'burning everything to ashes' would lead to that 'end of flames'," Duncan thought for a moment and said, "This concern arose shortly after Pathfinder I proposed that 'takeover plan' to me—an end-times preacher showed me the end of this ending. In that historical branch, I also burned the world to ashes, but the world inevitably ushered in its doom."

He paused at this point, frankly speaking of his long-standing worry, "This is what I've been worried about, and so far the only thing I'm worried about. That 'end of flames' is like a shadow. I always feel... its conditions for taking effect seem very close to the 'first step' I'm about to take. When I complete the 'first step,' will I mistakenly enter the historical branch of the 'end of flames'?"

Tariykin, sitting in the yellow sand, leaned forward slightly, staring into Duncan's eyes for a long time. After a while, the old giant withdrew his gaze.

"So, there is a crucial point of divergence," he said, his voice deep, "Whether it's Pathfinder I's plan or your own plan now, 'burning the world' is an unavoidable 'first step,' and the difference lies in... when executing this plan, who you are."

Listening to the words of this "Eternal Burning Fire," Duncan's heart suddenly stirred!

He finally vaguely grasped that key point... the one he had always felt vaguely, but never determined.

He subconsciously took another half step forward, staring fixedly into the giant's eyes, "You mean..."

"Captain Duncan's power has its limits," Tariykin said calmly, "You've been in this incarnation for too long, but... this is just an incarnation after all."

Duncan's eyes widened slightly. He lowered his head, looking at his hands, finally understanding what he had always felt was wrong, understanding why he had that instinctive worry...

It was his "self," bound in this body, perceiving the limitations of the incarnation, and thus issuing a warning in his subconscious.

He is not Duncan; he is Zhou Ming.

Duncan is just one of his incarnations, like the antique shop owner in Prland, like the cemetery keeper in Frost—the captain on the Vanishing Line is also just one of the three incarnations.

Duncan's first spirit world walk occurred when he activated that brass compass—and Zhou Ming's first spirit world walk occurred when he pushed open the door of his studio apartment and passed through that thick fog!

He took a light breath, letting the thoughts in his heart slowly calm down.

In fact... he had already noticed these things before. As "Zhou Ming," he had realized that his so-called "main body" on the Vanishing Line was no different in essence from the two "corpse incarnations" in Prland and Frost, realizing that the identity of "Duncan" should be the first incarnation he possessed in this world, but he had never carefully considered the deeper meaning of this matter—

Whether he is Duncan or Zhou Ming, this question was crucial from the beginning.

Crucial from the beginning...

Zhou Ming suddenly frowned. He suddenly recalled the first sentence the Goat Head said to him when he came to the Vanishing Line, and the sentence it would confirm with him every time—"Name?"

"Oh, it seems you're beginning to understand the essence of the problem," just then, Tariykin's voice suddenly came from the side, startling Duncan from his thoughts, "Then can you control your thoughts a little—the starlight is about to burn my eyes."

Duncan suddenly reacted, only then noticing that a faint layer of starlight had spread around him, illuminating the surrounding yellow sand, even seeming to gradually immerse this desert in the starry sky.

Tariykin lifted his tattered robe, blocking the starlight shining on him, his tone seeming a little helpless.

On the other hand, Vanna, who was standing beside him, seemed fine, just standing there in a daze.

It was like a gym student standing next to a teacher, unable to keep up with the train of thought, a kind of beauty.

Duncan coughed awkwardly, "Uh... sorry."

The starlight surrounding him gradually gathered.

(End of this chapter)