Nobody doesn't look forward to good news, but unfortunately, as Crete said to Duncan—at the end of time, there is no good news.

This small haven, forged in the embers, is heading towards its final collapse at an ever-increasing speed. It's no one's fault, nor is it a localized malfunction or man-made destruction—it's the end of all things, because the hour of doom has arrived.

Loon and Helena listened quietly as Duncan told them everything, including what the joint exploration team had seen and heard in the border seas, the clues discovered on the Holy Island, Duncan's contact with the Deep Sea Lord, and even the "take over the world" plan.

Duncan didn't hide this last thing. He didn't mind the two popes before him knowing about the "other option" for this world—and relatively speaking, he didn't hide what the "future of fire" would eventually lead to, nor did he hide the end of all things that the final evangelist showed him.

Loon and Helena were silent for a long time, and even after Duncan had told them everything, they still didn't speak for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, Loon sighed softly, "Some things are better left unknown."

"Ignorance is the privilege of ordinary people, which you do not have," Duncan said lightly. "Having learned so many truths, what do you have to say?"

Helena thought seriously for a moment, raised her head, and said slowly, "Although the end of the world is inevitable, it's not like there's completely no other way to go, is it?"

She paused, staring fixedly at Duncan, her eyes as deep and blue as the sea, seeming to reflect a distant wave: "You actually have another plan, don't you?"

Vanna's eyes widened slightly—when the Pope spoke, she seemed to hear the faint, distant sound of waves, but the sound of the waves seemed particularly illusory, as if it was just a glimpse from the goddess.

Duncan waved his hand, interrupting Vanna's words, and then he calmly met the gaze of the "Deep Sea Pope": "Hello."

"This sanctuary, the Boundless Sea, can no longer be repaired. Any patching up inside can't save it, it can only be a temporary reprieve; opening the Age of Fire is another form of survival, and there's no turning back. Once this route is chosen, the entire civilization is actually equivalent to being sealed in a tomb..."

The "Female Pope" blinked, finally breaking the silence. Accompanied by the softly ringing sound of waves, her voice seemed to vibrate directly in everyone's minds: "Another sanctuary?"

She suddenly reacted and immediately turned to Duncan: "Captain, this is..."

The "Female Pope" seemed not to have heard. She didn't respond to the greeting, but still stared fixedly at Duncan, the waves in her eyes seeming to be constantly turbulent, and then she repeated again: "You actually have another plan, don't you?"

Duncan seemed not surprised. He breathed a sigh of relief and answered faintly, "...Build a new one."

"Since the plan to continue the old world either leads to the end or is unreliable, then we only have one way to go... No longer continue the old world, we'll build a new one."

Duncan spoke unhurriedly, but his gaze never left the eyes of the "Female Pope," and then he waved his hand down, making a cutting gesture.

"A sanctuary is a narrow, closed system with limited disaster redundancy and only internal resource cycles. The crucial support systems are even more limited to a single set—there's only one sun, only one Boundless Sea, and even the number of city-states was set to a limit at the very beginning of creation, and all of these are sealed by that eternal veil...

"As it turns out, such a system is too fragile when facing a large-scale collapse, like a building about to fall. Those hiding in the house have no chance to repair the entire system from the inside, and can only watch as the entire sanctuary gradually collapses. No matter how long this sanctuary lasts, no matter how many years the civilization inside develops, this result is destined.

"Because the upper limit of civilization development within the sanctuary is that 'shell'—the eternal veil."

Shirley and Ardog sensed the change in aura and suddenly seemed a little uneasy.

The "Female Pope" just frowned slightly, without responding.

Her voice was mixed with slight tremors and echoes, as if many indistinguishable murmurs were overlapping. The air in the living room somehow became humid and cold, with a salty smell peculiar to the sea breeze.

"Another world," Duncan said calmly.

Then he paused for a moment, and in this moment, the entire living room was silent—so silent that even the crackling sound in the fireplace not far away became the loudest sound here.

Under the gaze of the "Female Pope," Duncan slowly opened his hands, his expression particularly serious: "So, we need a world, a 'world' far bigger than a sanctuary, one that can accommodate more possibilities, one that can allow civilization to continue to develop until it breaks through the upper limit, at least... Even if the end of the world comes again, it must have the ability to leave behind more embers, instead of plunging everything into darkness after the sun goes out..."

The "Female Pope" quietly stared at Duncan. After a moment, she spoke softly, "Of course we know—but how can this be done? After the Great Annihilation, in the chaotic, scorching ashes, it was already a miracle to support a sanctuary like the Boundless Sea. Outside the sanctuary, order has long ceased to exist. We have waited for a long time and have not seen any hope of the chaos subsiding... This Boundless Sea is the only remaining 'fragment' with order, and outside of this, there are no 'materials' that can be used to build a new habitat."

The soft sound of the waves seemed to overlap with some disturbing howls and noises. Helena's eyes gradually showed a hint of chaos, her throat seemed to have something growing and wriggling, and on the skin of her cheeks, fine, dark purple scales, like those of some marine creature, quietly appeared.

But she still sat upright on the sofa, seemingly waiting for Duncan's answer.

Everyone else, including Morris and Lucretia, consciously closed their mouths. No one dared to interrupt at this time.

"So, the key is 'order,' the 'order' that can support the operation of the entire world—the limited lifespan of the sanctuary is also due to imperfections in order."

Duncan looked at the "Female Pope," as if looking through her deep eyes and meeting the gaze of another distant existence, and then he breathed a sigh of relief: "...Just as I've been thinking during this time."

He raised his hand and pointed to himself.

"I have order here, complete 'order.'"

The living room was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Suddenly, a warm touch came from his hand—Duncan turned his head and saw Nina grabbing his palm, the expression on her face a little uneasy.

Duncan smiled and reached out to touch Nina's hair: "Don't worry."

Nina took a light breath and nodded vigorously—and in her field of vision, Uncle Duncan's smile was gradually becoming blurred.

That smile gradually disappeared into countless stars.

As brilliant and dazzling as a galaxy—a giant constructed of starlight slowly stood up in everyone's vision. The ancient stars, gas clouds, and star-forming nebulae seemed to flow and cover everything within sight. The giant still stood in the living room, but looked as if it was enough to fill the entire world and support the entire world.

It bent down towards the direction of "Helena," and the stagnant ancient stars seemed to swell and tremble in the illusion, as if they might violently expand and release at any moment, turning into all-consuming starlight.

"The order of the entire universe—complete and healthy, never touched by that doomsday," Duncan said slowly, his voice trembling among the stars, "It's only a moment, but from the data level, it's complete."

Duncan felt his body, felt his thoughts flowing among the magnificent and splendid stars. For the first time, he realized his "breathing," his "breathing" on the scale of the stars.

Then, he immediately restrained the urge to continue breathing.

He knew that the "change" in him was accelerating once again.

Ever since leaving Holy Island, his "change" had been accelerating—initially, he could only know what he looked like from other people's unintentional and hasty glimpses, and after glimpsing part of the truth from the Pale Giant King, through conscious control, he could perceive the starlight on his body in the mirror. Not long ago, he saw the changes in himself with his own eyes in his "single apartment," and now...

He had to control himself very carefully to continue "looking like a human being."

There wasn't much time left for this sanctuary.

There wasn't much time left for him either.

Duncan stared into the eyes of the "Female Pope," and he saw a distant creature—perched on a gray-white reef, curled up in a palace-like nest, long dead.

Countless "offspring" who had also died long ago clustered around her palace.

The creature, long dead, raised her head and looked at Duncan with her many eyes.

Her voice entered Duncan's ears through Helena's mouth: "...So beautiful..."

"Now there are two problems," Duncan said, controlling himself to gradually collapse the starlight back into "Duncan," "First, 'data' alone cannot build a new world. I need raw materials, a lot of raw materials... and I don't know how this process should be completed. I only have a vague and general impression. This impression tells me that what I need is not in this Boundless Sea... It's too small, it's not enough.

"Second, I don't know how to save everything that exists in this sanctuary while creating a new world—in the glory of the birth of a new world, it may be reduced to ashes."

(End of this chapter)